Metal and Fire of Hogwarts
by Roze Alchemist
Summary: Roy and Ed are sent to Hogwarts on a new mission, is there a lead on the philosopher's stone? Do they need to protect Harry Potter, or is all of this just a scam? Read and review!
1. Beginnings

"Harry! Harry! Wake up!" a voice called, as his body was being rocked back and forth gently. Blinking away the sleep from his eyes, his eye sight slowly went back to normal and the young wizard looked up to see his two friends leaning over him; red hair and freckles; that was Ron and bushy brown hair; that was Hermione. "Get up and get ready, we're about to leave for school," Hermione told him quietly, her voice hushed so as not to disturb the sleeping members of the Order of the Phoenix. Though all three doubted that anyone was still sleeping with the Weasely twins around.

Only an hour later, the trio was packed and waiting at the door with their trunks sitting at their feet. Bird cages, cat cages, broom sticks and random bags of candy, all gathered at their feet waiting patiently or impatiently in the case of the animals, to go.

It was then that a large black dog, that had once struck fear into their hearts trotted and towards them and sat at Harry's side, tongue lolling out in happiness. That is until, a scattered looking wizard with brown hair, made his way over to them, "Sirius! You can not come!"

The dog became a man again in the blink of the eye, but no one seemed startled by the change. "I want to see my godson off to school!" he exclaimed in annoyance.

"I know you do, but Dumbledore said that you had to remain here and you know exactly why!" the man argued back. As much as he did not want to, Harry nodded in agreement concerned for his godfather, and Sirius let out a defeated sigh.

* * *

"Good, you're finally here Full Metal," a tall mysterious man said. He had short black hair that fell in the front of his face and a smirk on his lips. Black eyes like charcoal, and a bright blue uniform with the rank of Colonel displayed visibly. The boy he was talking to, Full Metal, stood in front of him angrily. Blond hair fell around his face and was pulled back in a short braid, while his gold eyes fumed at the man in front of him.

"Perhaps if you hadn't sent Major Armstrong after us, we wouldn't have run from him and been back earlier!" the blond shot back, anger clearly in his voice. The large suit of armor behind the boy nodded agreement.

"That doesn't matter, as long as you didn't unpack, Ed," the man explained. "The two of us have a mission that I'm sorry to tell you can not bring Al along, not yet at least."

"Mustang! Why not!" the short boy asked slamming his hand against the desk in front of him.

Mustang, or Colonel Roy Mustang, as those with respect knew him, only shook his head, "You'll see. Gather your things and meet me back here in an hour. We will leave then, shrimp." Roy's trademark smirk was back on, as the 'shrimp' was held back from killing him and dragged out of the room yelling.

Riza Hawkeye stepped out of the corner and looked at her commanding officer curiously, "Why didn't you tell him, sir?"

"If I had told him, he would have refused to come," the Colonel responded without pause.

* * *

The Great Hall was filled with laughing and giggling students all arranged in four long tables. Every student wore long black robes, with their houses color paraded proudly on clothing and on the tables themselves. Large empty gold platters sat on the tables, waiting for the food to come and the students to devour it. First, however, the headmaster stood from the teacher's table and moved to give his annual speech. Every student looked forward the to the speech, it generally made no sense at all, ignoring the usual warnings that the care taker, Filch, had him announce.

The students fell silent as the Professor began to speak, "Welcome students! This year we have two new exchanges, staying with us. Much as you did last year, be kind to them, and take them in as your own. Now if you will help me in welcoming the Professor of our new Alchemy class, Colonel Mustang, and his promising student, Edward Elric."

That was their cue. Roy stepped forward and out of the shadows, coming level with the teacher's table before he stopped. Ed fell into step behind him. The younger alchemist managed to keep his face emotionless as he moved forward, despite the urge he had to pound his _Colonel_ into the ground. He still had no idea what they were doing at this strange school, he had only been given the basics before they left. And he did not want to be wearing the stupid military uniform. He got out of it every other day of the year, why not did he have to wear it for an entire year? The Colonel had so happily informed the headmaster that this was their standard uniform and they would wear them the entire year. Now, he had to match the one man he didn't want to for the entire year!

"Explain to me again why we have to wear our uniforms everyday. I would much rather be in those stupid looking robes," Ed whispered out of the side of his mouth in his native tongue. He did not care that the entire school was watching them and examining them while they waited for the rest of the explanation.

"Because _runt_, this is the only way to make sure that we both have our gloves on at all times. That way no one will see your automail, and I will always be prepared in case of an emergency," the Colonel responded quietly. A small smirk passed his lips as he saw Ed's eye twitch in annoyance as he fought to contain his anger at the comment.

Dumbledore continued, not noticing the small conversation the two held, in truth, he could not understand them, "These two come from the Military Academy in Amestris, both specialize in the alchemy branch. For all students interested in learning alchemy, there will be sign ups in the morning, but first, perhaps the two could give us a demonstration?"

In unison the pair turned and saluted the headmaster before turning to each other, evil grins on their faces. Ed would once again be able to get the Colonel back for not explaining anything to him. Roy would get to attempt to light the pipsqueak on fire again! Nothing could be better! Unless they had to clean everything up on their own again…

Shaking the idea out of their heads they moved into position. Roy raised his arm and snapped his fingers, sending a sphere of flame at the short alchemist. Prepared for this, the blond alchemist dropped and rolled. He came to a stop, squatting on the ground. Quickly clapping his hands he pressed them to the ground and a spike shot out of the ground underneath the Colonel's feet. The man jumped back barely in time and growled, "Full Metal!" as he raised his hand to show the boy with more fire.

"Thank you, gentlemen, that was most interesting and informative," Dumbledore interrupted stopping both alchemist in their tracks before they could kill each other. "Mr. Elric, you may pick a house to join for the year. You will then room with said house and join their classes," the headmaster added gesturing to the four long tables filled with students.

Ed stood staring at the tables unsure of how to choose. He knew nothing of the tables or houses, he was lucky he even knew the name of the school he was at! Mustang had told him nothing! "Table to the right with red and gold," Roy informed the boy quickly in their native tongue.

"Yes, sir. Colonel Bastard, sir!" the blond boy responded a smirk on his face as he mock saluted and walked to his new table. All of the eyes in the room followed him and the 'dreamy' Colonel as they moved to their separate tables. Ed quickly sat down in the only empty spot, between two identical looking red haired boys. They gave him identical grins before turning back to watch the headmaster as he once again introduced a new teacher, "Students, one more to go and then dinner! Let me introduce Professor Umbridge, who will be our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher."

The woman stood and before the headmaster could continue started a long speech that made the students groan. Some students just stopped paying attention halfway through it, others, who wanted to make a good first impression, zoned out but pretended to listen. Roy made no pretense of paying attention, it was a long and boring speech and he could hardly sit through the ones at headquarters let alone one on something he did not care about. Instead he spent the time, devising ways he could amuse himself. There was always Ed to torture, send flames at the boy, but that would be too obvious. He could, of course, always set the woman on fire, but that would get them thrown out and ruin the mission. He finally decided it was best to just light the woman's napkin on fire, put it out and the light it again. When he was done, the napkin looked normal enough, at least until someone tried to use it. It would crumble and make a worse mess on the person.

Ed sat in his seat, politely sniggering at the woman's speech, unable to not pay attention. Yet, he had his eyes trained on the Colonel, watching with interest and a little joy at the trap the man was setting.

Finally the woman finished speaking and sat. Dumbledore stood up again and motioned for the food to appear without a word. He was like everyone else extremely hungry.

Much to the surprise of the two alchemists the food appeared out of no where on the dishes in front of them. Both were not expecting this and looked ready to attack the food where it lay, until they had calm hands lain on their arms. "It's just dinner, squirt," one of the boys next to Ed said.

"Nothing to worry about," the other informed him.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SMALLER THAN A PEA?" Ed shouted rounding on the first of the boys.

Roy laughed from his spot at the teacher's table, Ed was back to normal, or as normal as he would ever be. Though the laugh stopped short, when he heard Professor Umbridge addressing the headmaster, "You did not inform the ministry that you were starting a new class here or that you had an exchange student and teacher coming! This will have to be looked over and they may have to be sent home."

Roy stood, drawing everyone's attention, "Full Metal! We leave now!" Stopped short in his rant, he looked up at the Colonel curiously, but nodded and moved toward him. "Our military will hear of the way that this has gone, and I am sure that they will not be very happy. This was arranged to help our countries get on better footing, but it looks as if you do not want that!" Roy stated calmly, his face stern as he spoke to the woman. She only stared at him blankly, as he was still speaking in his native tongue.

With a small sigh, Ed spoke up, his English slightly shaky. He quickly translated the Colonel's words and moved to stand next to his commanding officer. It was the first time that anyone had heard them speak, loud enough to make out the words or even in English. The entire hall was silent as they waited for the woman's response.

"Colonel Mustang, please accept my apology, I was unaware of the circumstances and only looked to make everything right with the Ministry!" she managed to say through her shock at what had happened.

"It was a misunderstanding, then," Mustang replied in English this time. "Return to your seat, Ed," he said before moving back to his own. Every girl in the room had their eyes glued on the Colonel; his voice was dreamy and wonderful, exactly as they imagined it.

Ed returned to his seat quietly, wondering exactly what this mission was about. If it was just to help with politics, he was going to kill Mustang. He could have been out searching for the Philosopher's Stone!

**A/N:** Hope that everyone liked this. I know my friends got a few good laughs before they tried to murder me for starting a crossover. I'll hopefully have the second chapter up tomorrow, as I'll have nothing to do during study first period. Review and let me know what you think!


	2. Broken Metal and Fire

Ed woke with a start as light was just beginning to peer in through the small windows. He dressed quickly, pulling on the military pants and a long sleeved white shirt, with the tell tale gloves. Without a sound he moved out of the small room that he now shared with the other boys of his year. All he had to do now was find Mustang and convince him to take Alphonse's place in the daily sparring matches. He still needed to keep in shape, and well they were from a military academy, were they not?

He found himself wandering the hallways looking for the Colonel, while his mind wandered to the events of the night before. The look on Umbridge's when her napkin fell apart and left soot stains all over her face still made him laugh quietly, and then of course he had been led to his new home. "Home… I can't call it a home," he thought quietly, "I have no home. We burned it down." Shaking the depressing thoughts from his mind, he thought about his new roommates. 'What do you mean you're not a first year?' 'But you're so short!' were some of the phrases that they first muttered upon meeting their new year mate. They were friendly enough after they had gotten used to him, but he hadn't stayed up for the welcome back games and chats they had. As good as he was adjusting to new things, he was still going to have a hard time getting used to a different time zone.

Coming out of his thoughts he realized that the halls were empty, but considering it was before 7:00 he had hoped to find Mustang wandering. It was their first day; reason enough for getting to breakfast on time, but then again it was Mustang. The only reason he even showed up for work was the threat of Riza's gun.

Bored and with no one to talk to, Ed turned around and made his way back to the Gryffindor Common Room, or so he was told. He still was unsure of the names. It was evident that there would be no sparring match this morning, and he still needed to get the military jacket from his room.

Harry woke to the sound of someone cursing, peeking around the curtains he had pulled shut, he saw the new student, Ed, pulling his jacket on and muttering in his strange language. Rolling out of bed slowly, he whispered a good morning and moved to get his robes. It was about time for breakfast and the others still needed to wake up. Grabbing socks from his truck he tossed one at each of the sleeping lumps. "Time to get up everyone!" he called out with a laugh.

Ed watched curiously as the boys opened their eyes and tossed the socks back in disgust. Within a few minutes all of the boys were up and moving, no one talking, just stuck in their daily morning routine, wishing that classes started later in the day.

"Are any of you going to sign up for the Alchemy class?" Ed asked softly from where he sat perched on his bed, hoping someone would lead him to the Great Hall. The boys looked up surprised to hear the new boy speaking.

"I hadn't really thought about it, but what you and the Colonel did was brilliant! I think I will sign up for it," the boy with red hair said quickly. Ed vaguely remembered him being introduced as Ron, the brother of the two boys he had sat between at dinner. The others all nodded their heads in agreement. Ed grinned at them, remembering what it was like learning under his teacher. He half hoped Mustang would be nicer.

Soon enough, the other boys started talking, asking him questions about home and school, and he was dragged out of the room and down to the Great Hall. Many students had already shown up for breakfast, when they entered and the blue uniform got quite a few odd looks before the group sat down.

The blond alchemist jumped up just as he sat, Mustang was sitting at the teacher's table. Waving off the questions his roommates asked as he moved forward, he stopped in front of the Colonel. With a salute to keep the cover up running, he met the Colonel's eyes head on, "Mustang, I was hoping…" he paused unwilling to ask something of the bastard that sat in front of him, "I need a sparring partner to work out with me every morning so I stay in shape."

With a small smirk, the Colonel nodded, "I'm sure I can find someone to take Alphonse's place for the year, now just who…"

"Bastard! You know it has to be you! No one else can I have automail!" the young alchemist started angrily but faltered at the end. It was a very good thing that they had not been speaking in English, but he still needed to discuss an issue with the older alchemist.

Roy nodded, "I'll meet with you in the mornings before breakfast and I'll ask for a place that we can spar today." He was concerned when the anger didn't continue through the sentence, or else he would have fought it more and caused the boy to really get angry.

"Colonel, I think I need Winry," Ed started.

"Oh? Miss your girlfriend already?" Roy asked quickly.

Ed blushed red and glared angrily at the man in front of him, "She's my mechanic! And no!" Clenching one hand into a fist, he told the man, "I feel as if my arm has been dislocated and I can barely move it, as it is, it's painful. I don't know why either, all I did was put this stupid uniform on!" Gold eyes glared at the blue outfit with hatred.

"I will see what I can do, for now just tell everyone it is an old alchemy injury that flared up and that the nurse here will not be able to fix it," Mustang ordered the alchemist.

Ed saluted again and stepped back to the seat his room mates had set aside for him. It was just as class schedules were being handed out. The alchemist listened as Harry was asked by the Professor if he wished to sign up for Alchemy, when he nodded she flicked her wand and the schedule changed before their eyes. Ed's eyes widened. "Equivalent Exchange?" he murmured in shock, "Where is it?"

Stepping in front of the young man, the Professor looked down at the boy with a kind smile, but stern face, "Mr. Elric, from the dealings I've had with Professor Mustang, you two will have a bit of a time adjusting to Hogwarts." Her face lightened as she added, "But I think Hogwarts will have a harder time adjusting to you two." Falling back into ceremony she introduced herself, "I'm Professor McGonagall, the head of your new house. You may come to me with any problems you have, but for now here is your schedule. I discussed your classes with your Professor and this is what we came up with."

Ed could only nod in response to the Professor's words. He took his schedule quietly and looked at what he had first. Defense Against The Dark Arts was first, with Professor Umbridge. He turned to the girl next to him, he had no idea who she was, but she looked kind, with dark hair and light eyes. "What is Defense Against The Dark Arts? Is it a combat class?" he asked confused.

The girl looked at him and giggled, the look of confusion on his face gave her pause, "You're serious?" She paused and attempted to find an explanation, "We learn spells to help defend against dark spells and wizards. There is no fighting though."

Ed looked down at his plate, but quickly looked up at the startled gasps of several younger students. A swarm of owls had flooded the room, Ed stiffened feeling weak with his arm out of commission.

Ron who sat on Ed's other side, just shook his head and explained, "Settle down, they're just bringing the post."

Ed looked at the boy strangely before returning his attention back to the birds above him. They started swooping and dropping packages in front of people. He was shocked to see one swoop down and drop a letter and small package on his plate. He glanced at the paper curiously, before tearing it open. A smile passed over his face as he read.

_Dear Big Brother,_

_Lieutenant Hawkeye told me where you were going. I wish I could be there with you; I've always wanted to see magic. Though, I have no idea why you are there, or if this letter will find you. The bird does not look trust worthy; I really don't think that the desert suits it at all._

_I'll keep my eye open for clues to the Philosopher's Stone. it seems that I've managed to gain access to the library even without you here! I'll spend the time searching in there and learning. Maybe I'll be as good as you are some day. _

_I hope you have fun, and get good grades! And let's pray that our teacher doesn't find out about this. I don't want to imagine what she would do to us. Or Winry! Lucky, you're too far away to feel her wrench._

_Love,  
Alphonse_

Next Ed moved to the package, to which a small note was attached. Ed read the note curiously.

_Full Metal,_

_I have sent you some of your text books here since you did not have time to get them. I have also forwarded some of the Colonel's paper work to you. If I give it to you I know for a fact that he will not burn it and claim to never have gotten it. Let me know if he is giving you any problems over her._

_Good Luck,  
Lieutenant Hawkeye_

The young alchemist opened the package happily and pulled out the text books that had been sent to him, underneath them was a box full of paper. Grinning evilly, Ed stood up with the box in one arm and walked to the teacher's desk. "Colonel Bastard," Ed greeted with an evil grin, "A present from Lieutenant Hawkeye, and you have strict orders not to light it on fire."

Turning and moving away from the table before he could get burned, the blond alchemist grabbed his books and asked the table, "Someone care to show me where Defense Against The Dark Arts is?"

Hermione stood and nodded, "Follow me; I've got the same class. Harry and Ron should come too, actually." She hinted none too subtly at the two boys that were absorbed in a conversation about Quidditch. Shaking her head, she started off with Ed falling into step behind her. "What is it like at a military school?" she asked as they wound their way through the maze of a school.

Ed grinned thinking back on all the things he had experienced at the military. "Very violent, angry, depressing, and yet amusing," he said after a while. His mind kept drifting back to Lab 5, Barry the Butcher, and Hughes. Hermione caught the emotion behind the boy's words and stayed quiet until they reached the classroom.

"This is it," she said slipping into the classroom. Professor Umbridge was there already, seated behind her desk. One or two other students had arrived ahead of them, but there were still plenty of open desks. The pair quickly picked two and sat. The room filled up rapidly as time grew closer to the beginning of class.

Finally, when the last student sat, the Professor stood, "Welcome to Defense Against The Dark Arts. Your previous classes have been lacking from what I hear. And last year! Learning of the Unforgivable Curses! This is horrid! As such I will spend the time catching the class up." She smiled at them sweetly, before turning to Ed, "Mr. Elric, correct?" At his nod she continued, "Would you care to tell the class what you know on this subject."

Ed stood and saluted the woman before answering her, "Ma'am, I am afraid I know nothing of this subject. We have nothing of the sort at the Academy. Unless, I was informed wrong and this does cover combat." He shifted into a defense position waiting for the woman to jump him.

"Mr. Elric what are you doing?" she asked sharply.

"You… aren't… going to attack me?" he asked slowly, confusion evident on his face.

"Sit down, and we shall continue this class. You may have a lot of work to catch up on," the Professor informed him snappily.

The class went by slowly, Umbridge droned on and on, lecturing the class about the dangers of such a curse and how to counter it. Never once did she ask them to take out their wands and try. The only exciting part of the class was when she stopped at Edward's side and looked at his notes. "What is this? Are you writing a story in this class?" she asked angrily.

Startled Ed looked up at her, "Those are my notes, ma'am."

"Do not lie to me, this does not once mention a thing I have said!" she reprimanded him harshly.

"Ma'am, I have been taught not to write anything that could be of importance freely. Everything needs to be in code that is one of the codes I use. Just as Colonel Mustang puts his work in the form of dates," Ed explained patiently.

Eyes blazing at the mistake and the embarrassment she was going through, she moved back to the front of the class and continued the lecture.

Class was let out to the relief of all the students and they looked at their schedules. Alchemy was next. Most of the class moved forward and headed in the direction of the alchemy room. Ed followed the group uncertainly. He already knew alchemy, why was he in the class?

Sitting down with the rest of the class, he waited patiently for the Colonel, he half expected the man to be dragged in with Hawkeye's gun pressed against his head. Much to Ed's disappointment, the Colonel walked in of his own free will, although he was slightly late. The girls in the class all sighed with admiration as the man sauntered in. Shaking his head, Ed raised his hand.

"Full Metal?" the Colonel asked.

"Sir, why am I in this class?" he asked.

"Because it is the only alchemy class I can get you in, and you must continue your studies," Mustang responded. Switching into his native tongue he spoke quickly, "You had better get a perfect grade in this class, Full Metal. I convinced the Furher to let this be your test for the year. This way we won't have to clean up the parade grounds on our own again." He smirked at the boy before moving to the front of the class. "Who can tell me what alchemy is?" he asked the class in English.

A girl in bronze and blue, what had been explained to him as Ravenclaw color's, raised her hand timidly, "Isn't it when you can turn things into gold?" Her eyes were pleading for the answer to be correct and the 'handsome' Colonel to take a liking to her.

"No, that is illegal," Mustang stated before looking for other students.

"Magic without a wand?" a boy from Slytherin asked boldly.

"Did I say you could speak, boy?" the Colonel asked his eyes stern. He lifted his hand to snap his fingers when there was a clap and water dropped onto his gloves. "Full Metal runt!" he hollered glaring at the young boy.

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING MICROSCOPIC?" Ed yelled back, on his feet and ready to jump the table. "I'm the one keeping you from torching a student! And if I have to I WILL send for Hawkeye!" he shouted anger boiling.

The Colonel paled slightly at the thought of his Lieutenant coming with her gun, "Sit down, Edward." He turned back to the gaping class, "Contrary to popular belief, alchemy is not wandless magic. Alchemy is based off of one principle: Equivalent Exchange. And it is by no means to be taken lightly. Alchemy is dangerous as me or Edward could tell you."

**A/N:** Thank you all for the wonderful reviews! I hope you like this chapter, something to get the two settled into school before causing too many problems! Feedback is great! And **Oblivion**, I did not steal Al from you! You left me at my house and he came to school today but a certain someone wasn't there to take him!

Oh! And notice, I've recently changed my pen name to **Roze Alchemist** from **Purple Elf**. This was due to some safety issues at home or I would have left it. Hope I don't confuse anyone!


	3. Don't!

Harry groaned, it was nearly the end of the week, just a few more classes and then he would be free for two days. He spun at the sound of the loud annoying singing voice floating from behind. He knew that voice anywhere. Peeves, the resident Poltergeist who always found it amusing to sing about 'Potty' as much as he could. It was with a sigh of relief that he realized the song was not about him this time. Listening in hopes it was focused on Malfoy, he nearly died of shock.

"Widdle Eddie's got a girlie!" the poltergeist sang loudly.

The dreadful song was drown out quickly by the sound of Ed yelling, "WHO ARE YOU CALLING A MUNCHKIN?" After a moment, there was a loud thump and the crowd parted to show Ed had tackled the poltergeist. Luckily for Peeves, there was not much that the alchemist could do with only one arm. His right arm was still hanging limply at his side, unable to move it without extreme pain.

The boy who lived quickly rushed to Ed's side and pulled him off the poltergeist. "You'll only get into trouble, and we can not be late for Potions!" Ed let himself be pulled off slowly realizing that what his friend said was true. It seemed that Professor Snape and Colonel Mustang had turned into good friends, both had the same views. Children were horrible, and it was best to torture them whenever possible. Ed had always thanked the lord, even though he did not believe in God, for there being only one Mustang. Now, however, his faith in a lack of a god had increased. There were two Mustangs.

"You've been dragging your arm all week, what's wrong with it?" Harry asked curiously as they made their way to the dungeons.

Ed just shrugged a shoulder and gave him the typical excuse, "It was an old alchemy wound. I would have Madame Pomphrey treat it, but she can't."

"What about Professor Mustang?" the dark haired boy asked.

"Like I would let him near my arm!" the alchemist scoffed at the remark. "He would only make it worse!"

Harry couldn't help but laugh, though he fell silent as they entered the potions room. The pair split up, Ed to sit next to Neville and Harry to sit with Ron. Professor Snape swept into the room, cloak billowing behind him. "Take out your quills and parchment. Copy down the ingredients on the board and start making the potion. We will test it at the end of class," the man said quietly before stopping behind his desk. His eyes landed on Neville, "And don't screw this up too horribly, Mr. Longbottom."

The class painfully dragged their cauldrons out, except Ed. The alchemist had free reign in his classes; he could use his alchemy where he thought it applied and try to integrate the two. Before he could start to draw the alchemy circle, the door to the dungeon opened.

Many of the girls turned and sighed, the handsome Colonel was there, and might notice them! Ed shook his head and went back to drawing his circle, until he heard Mustang's words. "Professor, could I steal Edward? I have someone who needs to see him." Ed looked up surprised, his eyes flashing to the Colonel, and then Snape. Only between them did he notice a young blond girl standing in the doorway.

"Go, Mr. Elric," Snape said with a disappointed look. He would miss torturing the boy. Ed quickly gathered his things and followed Mustang out of the room, as the girls sighed. They would miss the two foreigners and their beautiful accents.

The girls' prayers were suddenly answered when they heard a loud female scream, "Edward! What did you do now!"

"No! Winry… don't!" they heard Ed yell before the door burst open and the alchemist sprinted into the classroom. He was quickly followed by a tall blond girl, of the class's age. She wore muggle clothes; a white tube top, jeans and a bandana. At her waist a muggle tool belt hung loosely. Though the most distinguishable part was the wrench she had clutched in her hand. "Edward!" The girl skidded to a halt and took careful aim. The wrench flew and hit the fleeing boy on the head.

"Winry! I didn't do anything! I swear!" the boy pleaded backing away from the advancing girl.

"You did too! Or else, why would I be here? You broke-" she was cut off by a swift word from the Colonel.

"Stop! The two of you are interrupting a class, let us move to my classroom," Mustang interrupted motioning for the pair to leave the room. The trio left the class quietly after gathering their things, though Winry's eyes stayed dark and locked on Ed as they moved.

The door shut and the silence of the room broke, Hermione, Ron and Harry all leaned in together. "She said he broke something," Hermione whispered.

"It must have been something important if she was that angry," Harry added thoughtfully. "I wonder what it was…"

Ron just sat there shaking slightly, "Bloody hell, I hope she doesn't ever get angry with me." The image of the flying wrench was still playing in his mind.

"Quiet! Get back to your work!" Snape growled causing the class to go silent again.

Mustang's classroom suddenly became very violent, as the trio walked in. "I can not believe you, Ed" Winry said quietly, the disappointment clear in her eyes. Sitting down at a desk, the young alchemist sighed, his head hanging. "Tell me what happened," the mechanic said after a few minutes.

"I don't know, all I did was put the stupid military jacket on!" gold eyes glittered with annoyance at the barest mention of the uniform.

"Alright, let me see it," she said quietly. With a groan, the small boy took his jacket and undershirt off. Then he pealed the glove off his hand. Winry approached silently and began an inspection. Her hands ran up and down the metal limb, testing, feeling for anything out of place. Finding nothing out of the ordinary with her hands, she pulled a screw driver out and began to unscrew the arm. It was time to start looking deeper. "Colonel, will I be able to take his arm off, or does it have to remain where it is?" she asked thoughtfully.

The man thought for a moment before nodding, "You may take it off. If it takes too long we should be able to transmute something to pretend to be his arm for now."

"Alright, let me undo this one screw and then Ed I'll remove your arm," Winry informed the golden eyed youth. He only sat there with his teeth clenched, he was better off than Al, no matter the pain. It was only a moment of pain while the girl pulled the limb free of his nerves. Al had to live years of pain without pain.

The arm was free and Mustang gestured for Winry to take the arm to his office to work. "I have a class coming in soon. That needs to be out of sight." Gathering a few pieces of wood, metal, and chalk he tossed them to Ed, "Make yourself an arm Full Metal, then come up here."

The alchemist quickly used the chalk to draw a transmutation circle and placed the material inside of it. Pressing his one good hand to the circle a flash of blue glimmered and then a prosthetic arm appeared in place of the wood and metal. Picking the arm up, he looked it over slowly, it was the right shape and had snaps to connect to his shoulder, but it was going to flap uselessly in the breeze. If he was to be attacked, he would be useless. And someone would notice!

There were footsteps and voices in the hall, classes were switching. With a sigh, Ed snapped the limb into place and picked up his white shirt. After a moment of staring at it, he looked to the Colonel, "Could you keep everyone out of the room. It's going to take me some time to get dressed."

Mustang held back a laugh as he stepped out of the room shutting the door behind him, "Yes, we'll have to wait a moment; Elric is in there with his girl friend."

"I'll kill you!" Ed shouted in his native tongue. After a sad moment of attempting to get his shirt on he finally gave up and called out, "Winry… help?"

The girl skipped out of the Colonel's office and stopped short laughing. Ed had his head and normal arm in the shirt correctly, but the wooden arm, was half stuck in the sleeve. With a grin still on her face, she moved to his side and fixed the shirt. Then grabbing his jacket she slipped it over the fake arm and helped button it up. "Think you can handle the glove, Full Metal?" she asked with an innocent look on her face.

At the glare she skipped back into the office and closed the door. It was time to get to work. "Mechanic freak," Ed muttered to himself as he pulled the door to the hall open.

The class looked as if the world had just ended, or at least part of the class. The girls looked at him dreamily, if somewhat sadly. Most of the boys looked put out, while a few gave him small smiles. Ed eyed them warily, as he moved aside for them to enter. "Good, Full Metal," Roy started, "I just informed the class that you will be teaching today's class while I help Winry."

"What!" Ed shouted outraged. "You help Winry? You don't know the first thing about-"

"I know more than you do about Alchemy, though you may not believe it," the man cut in tersely. "Continue where I left off in the last lesson and all will be fine," Roy smirked at the younger alchemist before slipping off into his office. Ed fumed. The Colonel was cutting his duty again! With several curses in his native tongue, Ed stepped to the front of the class.

A blond boy wearing green and silver raised his hand much to Ed's dismay. "Malfoy?" he asked annoyance clear in his voice.

"You are not fit to teach this class. I am certain once my father hears about this both you and that Colonel Freak will be headed back home," the boy said snootily.

Ed bit back the yell that was clamoring to get out. If he was going to teach the boy, he would do it the way he wouldn't forget soon. Pulling the piece of chalk from his pocket, he quickly sketched a transmutation circle on the floor and pressed a finger to it. The ground rippled and Malfoy's chair turned into a rocking horse. "Compared to me you are but a child in this field, compared to the Colonel, you are a newly born infant."

Malfoy's face was perfectly stunned and outraged, though many of the other students were laughing in delight at the sight. Ignoring the boy the alchemist continued, "I should have continued Mustang's lesson on basic transmutation history, but today I will delve into the uses of Alchemy. It can be used much as magic is, only in Amestris the whole population knows of Alchemy. It is not hidden." The temporary professor paused for a moment, then asked, "Has anyone heard of the Philosopher's Stone before?"

Harry raised his hand and spoke, "It was here, Ed, but was destroyed with Lord Voldemort tried to take it."

"It was here!" Ed's attention shot up and he focused on the black haired boy. "Someone destroyed it? Do they know what goes into making it!" He was outraged. So many human lives had been lost for the stone and one could just destroy it without a thought.

The class watched the alchemist with keen eyes, eager to know what had upset the blond, when he shook his head and continued, "Well there are a number of fake philosopher's stones floating around the world as well. There was one in Lior, a fair city, if you ignore the fact that the head priest used the stone to convince his followers he could bring them back from the dead and tried to turn them into an army. You see, the real stone increases an alchemist's powers; the rules of alchemy are destroyed. Once can attempt human transmutation without consequences, one can make things out of nothing." Ed clenched his teeth, the anger rising, "There was a girl there; just the thought of getting her beloved back had her joining the priest, until his sins were openly aired in front of the city and his stone proven a fake."

Riveted faces stared at Ed as he spoke, "Alchemy could have made an army, if it had not been for two people lucky enough to stumble upon it." He paused before nodding towards the office, "Alchemy kills, as the Colonel could easily tell you. Even other alchemists are not completely safe. Nor will wizards be."

With cold eyes, Ed motioned towards the door, "If you do not want to learn Alchemy leave now. But let me tell you that, when you are tied to a chair missing an arm and waiting for a man to kill you, alchemy may save your life. A wand is only useful when in your hand, Alchemy is always there."

The class sat fixed in their seats staring at the alchemist. It sounded as if he had experienced those things, but he was just a boy and so short. He was still a student, too. The idea was shaken out of their heads, when he grinned. "But at least you aren't attempting to learn alchemy, or do research with the Colonel and his Lieutenant breathing down your neck and shots being fired at your head."

**A/N: **Well hope everyone enjoyed this chapter! I was planning on a different ending, but decided that it would be too much for one chapter. So next chapter or the one after I'll put that part in. Let me know what you think, please!

Now for some responses to reviews, man do I have a lot of them! Thank you all so much!

**Tenshihijimushi** – Goodness is that a hard name to spell! We'll see about the fan girl bit. 

**Crazy-anime-inu** – Well I'm just happy that it wasn't me getting flamed! I've been either an emotional wreck or extremely exhausted everyday I've worked on this! I'm just amazed someone can actually make sense out of it!

**OblivionDragon** – Love you too, sweetie! Costa Rica here we come!

**BlackMercifulFaerie** – Hope you still think this is good! I've been putting off homework to do it and keep getting yelled at. Let's hope it's worth the pain! . And a thanks for pointing out the mistake, I really have no idea why I said green and white. I was probably extremely sleep deprived. As for lines in between, I've tried but it won't show up when I enter it into the system. I'll see what I can do though… will be fixing the first two chapters this weekend hopefully.

**Silver windflame** – Thanks!

**WildfireDreams** – Thanks and will try!

**Warden of the North** – Oopsies! I'll get the changes made and up this weekend. I couldn't remember when I was writing it and my friend has more than half of my FMA manga at her house…. still…. Thanks for letting me know!

**TokyoKitty16 – **Ha ha, thanks so much! Let's hope I keep him in character. And I'm pretty sure I just killed Winry's character, but I've not had much of an encounter with her yet.

**K** – Thanks!

**CEED** – Sounded like a good idea, but I couldn't go there exactly. But I hope this works instead! Let me know what you think!

**Madison **– Thanks! I'll try to keep the updates daily, but college applications and just plain school might spread them out a bit.

**Qtip **– Thanks! This soon enough? 

**L33Tbunny **– Thanks and the pace will slow down and bit and then pick up again later. Enjoy!

**Cathelina **– Thanks! Riza at Hogwarts is possible, but I'm not quite sure if she will be. Though, not for a few chapters if she does come in.

**AnimaBaya **– Thanks for pointing out my mistake, I'll get it corrected this weekend. Still have no idea why I said green and white… Perhaps it's telling me sleep is needed. Thanks for the review!

**Death's Alchemist **– Such a happy name. :P I'll keep it coming, no need to worry! Thanks!

**Fullmetal Shinobi **– Glad you liked it! And glad to know that I'm not the only one with my odd sense of humor! Thanks!

**Anndev **– Thanks, I waste quite sure if I was going to have an alchemy class this chapter, but a friend's suggestion and your comment made me decide to!

**Ceosel **– Thanks for the information on the house colors. I will keep that stored away for future reference. I really have no idea why I said green and white (perhaps I was trying to make it a slytherin and changed my mind halfway through). The differentiating between FMA and HP is hard, though. I had lines in between when written, but they do not show up when I upload the chapters. I'll keep experimenting and hopefully find a way to fix it. Thanks so much!

**Mizu no Youkai **– Thanks, but you're just reading HP and the Goblet of Fire? If you haven't read the 5th book this will most likely have a ton of spoilers of you! I hope I don't ruin the book for you! meeps


	4. Why?

A large book was slammed down on the desk in the Griffyndor common room. The hands that had slammed the book pressed against the table. The girl was confused, "I found a book on Amestris in the library, but there's no record of an Academy." Hermione quietly continued for her friends, Harry and Ron, "It's a fairly recent book, though. It lists some information on the military, too. Interestingly enough, it says that an Edward Elric is the youngest state alchemist ever. They couldn't be the same one, right?"

Ron shook his head, "Ed would never!"

The black haired boy only looked thoughtful, "We need to find out what he broke that upset that girl so much." The others nodded in agreement. "I'll get the cloak and we can head out." The boy flew up the stairs and reappeared shortly after with a lump in his robes. Without saying a word the trio left the common room and found and empty classroom.

The cloak easily fit over all three of the students. It contained so many memories: Fluffy, late night excursions, and the TriWizard Tournament. "Let's go," Harry whispered. The trio set off into the hall, they had to head down one more floor and then make a few turns. After much toe stepping, sliding against walls, and jumping out of student's ways they made it to the Alchemy room. Now they just had to find the foreigners. There was a commotion in the room, and they used the noise to open the door and slip in. Luckily the classroom itself was empty. They could see shadow's in the Colonel's office, however. The door was open and the trio moved into the doorway, sure to make a quick escape if need be. There were three muffled gasps as they peered through the cloak.

Ed sat on the Colonel's desk relaxing with his shirts off. The girl from Potions was rubbing her hand up and down Ed's leg and chest. The Colonel just stood by the window, oblivious to the seen. A paper was in his hand and a pen in the other, but he seemed to be distracted by a bird.

"Did you figure it out yet, Winry?" Ed asked quietly.

"Yes, I just wanted to run a check over your leg before I put it back," she answered, eyes still trained on the alchemist's leg. She quickly knelt down and started rolling the pants up. "And why are we speaking in this strange language? I hardly understand it," she asked irritably.

"Sorry, I'm just still trying to refresh my memory of this language," Ed replied in his native tongue. His words covered up the three stifled gasps.

The wrench was suddenly in the girl's hand again and ready to throw at her friend. "I thought I told you to do daily manitance! I even gave you a kit!" she yelled, "At this rate you'll need a new leg by the end of the month!"

Ed flinched and cowered away from the wrench, "I've been busy, Winry. Haven't had time."

"Busy with things you won't even tell me about!" Winry cried before storming away. The trio moved to the right quickly, so the girl would not run into them. A moment later, Ed appeared in the doorway. This time the gasps were held in, but just barely. Ed had no arm! There was just metal attacked to his skin, the way he had been sitting had kept it out of view. Harry tugged on Hermione's sleeve and motioned for them to leave the room. Silently as they could, the trio left. They had much to discuss.

As soon as they were back in the common room, they moved to an abandoned table and began to talk. "He's has a metal arm and leg!" Hermione whispered.

Ron nodded excitedly, "That's brilliant! Though, it makes you wonder what else he isn't telling us."

All Harry could do was nod, it looked as if Ed had scars as deep as his own, but Ed had no one to confide in. He had no one, there was that girl, but she was much too violent, and it was common knowledge that the boy and the Colonel continuously fought. Never before had he been so thankful for Ron and Hermione.

"I'm sure there is more to this than we can see right now. We'll need to keep an eye on him," Hermione murmured, staring at the floor deep in thought. "How would a fifteen year old come to have at least two metal limbs?"

"I guess we'll have to find out," Harry answered her.

* * *

Ed slammed a fist against the wall leaving a small dent. He could only take Winry getting mad at him. He wanted to tell her, but he couldn't. It would only hurt her more; he could remember the look in her eye after the Barry incident. Telling her would only involve her. It would only put her in danger. He rested his head against the cool wall, and closed his eyes. Winry had run off, she was somewhere in the school and now he had to look. "What the hell, Winry!" he muttered to the wall in his native tongue.

"Are you okay?" a young female voice asked quietly from across the hall.

The alchemist looked up surprised and saw it was a third year Hufflepuff girl. She was rather pretty, reminded him a lot of the girl that had stolen his watch on Winry's prompting. His watch, his hand dropped to his pocket and clung to the watch unhappily. "Fine, thanks though," he answered after a moment.

The girl blushed red and nodded quickly. Without a warning she ran off, she had to tell her friends that he had spoken to her! Ed watched the girl confused, until he felt a hand on his shoulder.

Turning he saw Winry, "Some things are better left unspoken. Hughes once told me that." The mention of the man left pain in both of their eyes. It was a loss they had not stopped grieving. Trying to lighten the mood, Winry spoke again, "You realize that she's in love with you, right?" Ed looked at her curiously before she continued, "Most of the girls here are. You're foreign, you do some type of new magic, _and_ you're a mystery." She grinned evilly before adding, "Alchemy freak!"

"Mechanic freak!" he shouted back, the normal smirk coming onto his face. He was famous; the people of his country loved him!

"Although the shortness does detract from the overall worshipping," Winry added with an innocent grin.

"WHO-" Ed started only to be interrupted by Neville.

"We have to go to Care of Magical Creatures, Ed," the boy interrupted with a shy look towards Winry.

"Let's go," Ed said without a thought. He turned and started for the grounds with a short wave to Winry. "I'll be by later, Mechanic freak!" he shouted to her.

The pair walked in silence for a bit, before Neville finally asked, "Are you really dating her?"

The alchemist twitched and nearly tripped. "Winry? No!" he sputtered. "She was my neighbor, we grew up together, and that's all." The blond recovered slightly, almost blurting out that she was his mechanic.

Neville nodded a slight blush coming to his cheeks and the two stopped in front of Hagrid's hut. The half giant was waiting patiently for the class to show up; it looked as if he had something exciting to show them. Finally when the entire class had arrived, Hagrid waved them over to one of the back paddocks. Most of the class followed cautiously, but Ed was eager to see what type of animals they had here. He stopped dead, when he saw the three headed dog.

"This is Fluffy," Hagrid informed the class with teary eyes. "Ain't 'e a beaut'?" he asked.

"That's a chimera!" Ed said pointing a shaking hand at it.

Hagrid shook his head, "It's only a three headed dog, little fellow."

Ed stared at it in shock. "And how is a three headed dog made? Other three headed dogs? And how were they made? Someone fused the three together!" He was shaking, there were chimeras in England. The world knew, but did nothing to stop it! His thoughts drifted to Nina, and he let out a small moan. Never would he support the study of chimeras again.

The class had focused their attention on Ed, in his bright blue uniform. "Ed," Hagrid spoke, "it's a three headed dog named Fluffy. As with much of the wizarding world, there is no explanation for where he came from. He just is."

Ed nodded blankly, and Hagrid continued on with the class. Ed stopped paying attention after a while, lost in his thoughts as he fell to the back of the class. Tonight was the night he would spend all night reading his Care of Magical Creature's book, well after he spoke with the Colonel.

Class was dismissed after being properly taught to send the dogs to sleep. A little bit of music, Ed nearly winced. It was too real, too human like. At the merest hint of freedom, Ed dashed for the castle. He needed to talk to the Colonel, he needed to find out.

The young alchemist skidded to a halt in the middle of the alchemy room. "Mustang!" he shouted. The officer appeared in his office door shortly, and Ed quickly asked, "Why are we here!" Though, the more prominent question in his mind was, "Are there speaking chimeras here as well?" He was confused and worried and need to know what was going on.

"Well," the Colonel said, his smirk disappearing, "it's complicated."

**A/N:** Sorry it's so short! I would have made it longer but I needed to get to that one point and end it. It seems I got there faster than I intended! Hope everyone liked it. And **Lina**, I'll be attempting the line thing. Hopefully it will work! Thanks for the tip!

Thank you to all of my reviewers! I should have another chapter up tomorrow night, though it will be late. If not expect one Saturday. Let me know what you thought! And keep pointing out my mistakes I know there are some, I'm just horrible at finding them! Thanks again!


	5. Stay Safe

The classroom was silent, and Roy only took a moment to close the door to his room before sitting down at his desk. It was as if they were back at headquarters, Roy giving Full Metal his new orders and the short boy accepting them reluctantly.

With a mental sigh, Roy began, "Full Metal, we were sent here for one reason. As you may or may not have heard from your new friends, there is a Dark Lord running loose here. From what we have been able to gather, he wishes to take over the world and to do so must kill Harry Potter. We are here to keep the boy safe. If this dark lord can be thwarted then it will be one less thing for Amestris to have to worry about."

"Basically, we've been sent here to protect Harry," Ed summarized. "Why couldn't the ministry here just give the boy body guards?"

Roy shook his head, "That would be the easy solution, but it seems that the ministry is in denial.

Gold eyes flashed annoyance, "We're stuck cleaning up someone else's mess, then?"

The Colonel quickly changed the subject, "Luckily for you, there is a lead on the Philosopher's Stone here." The man noticed the immediate stillness in the boy across from him. "It is said that the stone was hidden here four years ago. We have received no word since then of what happened to it."

"It was destroyed," Ed told him quietly. The anger was evident on his face as he looked at the desk. The alchemists mind quickly processed the information he had been given, and stood up. "Colonel, I want Winry to fix my automail and then I would like permission to put her on a train to home myself. It's too dangerous for her here."

The Colonel nodded, "I'll see if I can get permission from the Headmaster."

Ed nodded and made his way out of the room. Ed was extremely thankful that Care of Magical Creatures was his last class for the day, he wasn't sure he would have been able to sit through another class. He needed to sit down; he needed Al. Ed was only half as good as he should have been without his brother at his side. The young alchemist trudged towards his house, he needed to sit and write a letter.

"Popple Granite," the boy murmured to the portrait before climbing through. It was one of those times that he just wanted to cry. Thoughts of his mother, Nina, Winry's parents, Hughes, and every other loss he had ever experienced danced through his head. He fell into one of the comfortable chairs. With his left hand he began to dig around in his pocket for the spare parchment and quill he had left from Potions. His eyes furrowed in concentration as he began to write.

_Dear Alphonse,_

_I am extremely glad that you are at home right now. Chimera's run around in broad daylight here, and no one says a word. Mustang has found a new best friend in Professor Snape, and the two are devising new ways to torture me. I'm sure that you know Winry has come; it is nothing that she can't fix. And she certainly found the time to hit me over the head with her wrench a few times._

_I'm not just writing to tell you the amusing things in this trip. I'm writing to give you a warning. I've just been informed of my mission, and I don't like it. I'm not sure how much Hawkeye has told you, but I don't like it. Keep yourself safe, I'm not there to fix you. And if anything strange happens, go stay with Winry. Stay safe, and stay out of trouble._

_Edward_

Ed folded the letter up quickly and addressed it. Now all he had to do was find an owl. The boy looked around uncertainly, until Ron spotted the confused boy. Standing he moved towards the alchemist and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I need to send a letter," Ed answered, the letter held tightly in his hands.

Ron grinned at the boy, "That's what the owlery is for. Come on I'll take you there." The pair set off, Ron led while Ed followed him slowly. After a few moment of silent admiration of the pictures on the wall, Ron finally spoke again, "So, who are you writing to?"

Ed studied the floor before answering, "My brother."

"Oh? You have siblings? How old is he?" Ron was surprised. He couldn't imagine there being another version of Ed.

"He's fourteen," the blond answered.

"Does he go to the military acedmy too?" the red-head asked quickly.

"No! I won't let him become a dog of the military, too," Ed answered fiercely. "I got us into this mess, I will get us out." Golden eyes stared at the ground as if it was going to attack.

A female voice broke into the conversation gently, "He doesn't blame you, Ed." Both boys turned to find Winry standing behind them. Ed didn't answer, while Ron looked between the two confused. "What happened?" he asked confused.

"I tried something I shouldn't have," Ed answered quietly.

The girl ended the conversation quickly, "Mr. Mustang sent me to find you, Ed. I need I need to fix the last bit, and I'm to tell you that you'll be escorting me to the train with Professor McGonagall tomorrow morning." She looked at the alchemist suspiciously before adding, "Though this is the way it usually is. Whenever we meet these days I have to pull several all nights and then you leave without much of a warning."

"Winry…" Ed trailed off.

"It doesn't matter, let's go," she told him turning and walking away. Ed followed her slowly, the letter still clutched in his hand. Ron had been forgotten in their conversation and the boy slipped off unnoticed. He had to talk to the others. If he remembered correctly the two were in the library.

"I just left Ed," Ron whispered as he sat down next to Harry. His friends looked up intrigued, and he quickly recounted the conversations.

"So, he doesn't want to be in the military. We need to find out why he is then," Hermione responded quietly.

"And what does he think his brother blames him for?" Harry asked.

* * *

It was a long night and no one got any sleep. Ed could not return to his room, as Winry had to take his leg off, and Roy of course stayed up under the pretext of doing lesson plans, though his pen lay on the desk the entire night without moving. Since Ed had to stay up, he also found it his duty to throw things at the Colonel, every time he saw the man's eyes close. By the time the sun broke the horizon, much of the Alchemy classroom and Ed was in cinders.

Winry finally exited Mustang's office to find the disaster area. "What were you two thinking?" she shouted at them. The pair cowered away from the angry woman, as she approached wrench in hand. The wrench went flying and hit the Colonel on the head. Winry just shook her head at Ed, however. "You'll be in enough pain in a minute," she muttered.

Attaching the limbs only took a few seconds, but it was enough to make a full grown man scream in pain. This time the alchemist had to endure it twice. Winry could only put one limb on at a time. Ed remained still, however. His teeth were grit to bare the pain, but he didn't make a noise. There was no whimper, no moan, nothing.

"All done," Winry said standing up. "Now this time you had better continue with regular maintenance and do not destroy it!" Turning she went back into the office and closed the door to pack her tools up.

Ed sighed and quickly finished dressing. He was just in time, too. Professor McGonagall opened the door a minute later, and looked around the classroom in shock. "Professor Mustang? What has gone on here?"

"Training, Professor McGonagall," Roy answered smoothly. "Edward is still training to join the military and as such he must keep up his abilities. I can not have him slacking while he is here."

The Professor nodded absently before motioning for Ed to come, "We must take Ms. Rockbell to the train." As if on cue, Winry opened the door and stepped out with a suitcase in hand. McGonagall smiled kindly at the girl and turned out of the room. The two teens followed the woman through the castle and across the grounds until she halted. "Now take my hands and I'll transport us to the train station," the Professor said after a moment.

Hesitantly the two took her hand. For a moment it felt as if their bodies were being ripped apart. A feeling that was all too familiar to the alchemist. The memories came up, with the feeling and he fell to his knees on the ground at the train station. "Al!" he cried. Al's entire body had felt like that. He had nearly lost him that night! Blinking back the memories, he found Winry's hand extended to him. He took it after a moment and she pulled him to his feet with a smile.

"Let's go, or you'll miss your train, Winry," Ed said calmly after a moment. The pair headed off, they had been around so many train stations that they could find their way within moments. In fact they almost lost Professor McGonagall they moved so rapidly through the crowd. Finally they arrived at the deserted platform. The train was boarding and Winry had to leave.

"Give this to Al for me?" Ed asked holding out the letter he had written. Winry nodded and took it silently. "Stay safe Winry. Write me when you make it home and say hello to Den and Pinako for me," he added.

Winry hugged him quickly before she could stop him and ran on the train. After a moment she leaned out a window. "Stay alive, Alchemy freak!" she called in her native tongue, "And drink your milk, you might grow!" Turning to the Professor she called out, "Thank you and please keep him safe for me!" in English.

The train started and quickly took the waving girl away from the pair.

"Now, Mr. Elric," McGonagall started, "let us head back to school." Taking the woman's hand again, Ed was thrown back into the pain and depression of apparation. "And back just in time for breakfast," McGonagall said they walked back to the school. Ed knew that this was going to be a long and difficult year, and the past two days had only enforced the idea.

**A/N**: Little longer than the last chapter, but not by much. Once again I had to get to a specific point, so sorry! Well I hope this semi answers some questions as to why Roy and Ed are at Hogwarts, more will be explained in time. Let me know what you think and thanks for reading or/and reviewing!

Updates should become daily again, I had no internet for most of today, cleaning spree the day before and a shopping spree the day before that. And amazingly I found out Envy's true gender this weekend! But once again thanks everyone!


	6. Breaking Laws

"Do you celebrate Halloween in Amestris, Ed?" Hermione asked curiously while she attempted her Muggle Studies's homework one night. The boy in question looked up startled before shaking his head in the negative. "So this will be your first Halloween?" she questioned further.

"What is Halloween?" Ed asked after a moment. "I keep seeing these strange pumpkins with faces and lights. I hear that they're part of this celebration, but I don't understand it," the alchemist admitted.

"It's the night that goblins and ghouls come out according to muggles. The one night that witches and wizards are accepted," Ginny explained from behind the alchemist. Ed smiled at her causing the girl to flush red unexpectedly.

"We don't have those at home, its part of the reason I'm here. The Fuhrer wants to know more about the unknown."

"Why send you, then?" Ron asked curiously, "You're just a kid."

"And who's the Fuhrer?" Ginny asked at the same time.

"I'm the best they have, Ron," the alchemist answered truthfully. "Me and the Colonel," he added as a reluctant side note. "The Fuhrer is in charge of the military and also our King."

"Isn't it a little cocky to think you're the best?" Hermione asked slightly annoyed.

Ed just looked at her for a moment before answering, "I'm the only alchemist to ever transmute without a circle or a stone."

"The Colonel…?" Ron asked confused.

"Ignition gloves with a transmutation circle drawn on the back. He just adjusts the air around himself and a simple snap adds a spark. The boom! Everything goes up in flames. It's why he's called the Flame Alchemist," Ed explained. "Have you learned nothing?" he asked as the question dawned in his mind, "Alchemy is based on equivalent trade." A small crowd had gathered around at this point and was listening to the conversation intently.

"Why have you been teaching us, Ed?" Harry asked suddenly. The entire crowd nodded encouragement. Everyone wanted to know why the fifth year was teaching a class there was a teacher for.

"Why have I been? Because the Colonel is a lazy bastard I have to pretend to obey for now," the blond muttered angrily to himself. Realization dawned on him, as he thought back to headquarters. Switching back to English at the questions from the crowd, Ed answered, "Because I haven't taken action against it yet." Ignoring the odd looks, he quickly asked, "Does anyone have a piece of parchment and a quill I could use?"

The material was supplied quickly and Ed started to scribble a note.

Lt. Hawkeye,

If you find the time, I could use some assistance regarding the Colonel. As a student and a soldier I have my hands full trying to complete my tasks. The Colonel, however, finds it necessary to add to my tasks by leaving the running of his fifth year class to me. Could you perhaps write him a note threatening more paperwork or a visit if he doesn't get on task? Thank you!

Oh and if you get a chance, please look after Al for me. Give Black Hayate a bone for me!

-Major Edward Elric

"Who is this Hawkeye we keeping hearing about?" Hermione asked peering at the foreign letter. Her brain was desperately trying to remember words to translate later.

Ed grinned innocently up at the girl, "The one person in the whole world that Colonel Mustang is afraid of!" The group slowly started to back away at the evil glint in Ed's eye. With a path free Ed stood up and made a run for the owlery a smirk on his face.

The students shook their heads in confusion and went back to the work they had been doing, all that is except for Hermione, Harry and Ron. "Accio dictionary," Hermione whispered flicking her wand. Within a moment the translation dictionary was sitting on their desk. Hermione quickly started flipping through the pages. "There!" she whispered triumphantly. Her finger was pointing at the translation for Major. "That was the word in front of his name at the end of the letter. He's an officer!" she explained.

"But why is he here and posing as a student?" Ron asked.

Harry thought for a moment before answering, "Perhaps he's here to help with Lord Voldemort? Especially since the ministry won't listen."

Continuously the voice of reason Hermione cautioned, "Well that's possible, but don't jump to conclusions until we find out for sure." The pair nodded agreement and they went back to work

Fifth year Griffyndors had Transfiguration first thing in the morning the next day. The class started promptly and the students fell silent. Each student had an animal in front of them, waiting to be used. Professor McGonagall swiftly began instruction, "We have finished our review of object to object transformation, now it is time to transform animals to objects." She surveyed the class before continuing, "I would like everyone to turn their animal into something of their own desire. I will be around at the end of class to look them over."

The class began to chatter excitedly. They had free reign, choose what they wanted the animal to become? Ideas were discussed and quickly dismissed, while the lazy few in the class transformed their animals into simple objects like glasses or mirrors. Ed stared in disbelief. The alchemist could not believe that this was happening. This went against every law he knew. The class flew by while Ed stared in amazement at the magic being performed around him.

The end of the class approached and Professor McGonagall moved around the room looking over the work. She stopped short at Ed, "You haven't done anything, Mr. Elric. Why?"

"Professor, I can't," he tried to explain. "It goes against the rules of alchemy. The only way to transmute the animal would be to kill it and I will not kill this bird unnecessarily." He glared at the desk unhappily. If he could have done that then the opposite would have been true as well, right? He could transform Al's armor into a body? It was too much for one day.

Luckily for the alchemist the day went by quickly. Dinner, however, had another surprise waiting. Before food could appear on the plates, the Headmaster stood up and motioned for someone to enter the room. "Students, we have a new student joining us. Though, he does not preside at the Military Academy, his teacher and the military agreed that his joining his brother would be a good experience for both of them." The boy who entered the room was short, light brown haired and with a large smile. "Please welcome Alphonse Elric," Dumbledore said with a clap.

Blinked and blinked again. The figure that looked so much like his brother approached him slowly. The hand that should have been his brother's reached out and touched his shoulder. It was warm, not cold. The boy couldn't take it, with a gasp he fell over unconscious.

**A/N:** Meep! They're getting shorter and shorter! Sorry! I'll try to get it longer next time! But for now this will have to do. Hope y'all enjoyed. Oh and as for my Envy comment. Only one person got it. Envy has no gender. If you check out the official FMA site, and go under character descriptions it mentions that Envy is too confused to remember her or his own gender and there for has no gender.

Let me know what you thought of the chapter! And a huge thank you to all my reviewers and readers! I love getting feedback!


	7. Elric Battles

Golden eyes opened slowly to find themselves in an all too familiar place. He had been taken to the hospital wing. Ed leaped out of the bed in a panic, "Not another shot!" He would escape before they could come after him with needles.

Small human arms wrapped around his chest and a warm voice spoke, "Calm down, brother!" The voice was warm not hollow, and the arms flesh not metal.

Ed fell still at the touch immediately, "Al?" The alchemist turned to see what he had always pictured his brother looking like when returned to normal. "You lie!" he spat. It had to be a trick; there was no way his brother had changed from armor to flesh while he was gone.

"It's me, big brother," Al answered the pain visible in his eyes.

"It's true, I watched as they transfigured his armor into a body," the commanding voice said from behind the brothers.

Ed turned rounding on the Colonel, anger flaring, "You bastard! You could have told me!"

"And ruin the surprise?" the man's smirk fell into place as he watched the boy try to lunge at him only to be held back. "Besides you caused quiet the scene down there," he added after a moment.

"It's not everyday one finds his brother turned into a human!" Ed yelled at the Colonel.

"Brother!" Al reprimanded him swiftly.

There was a long pause, a long heavy pause. "Is it real, Al?" the young alchemist asked the question that most heavily lay on his mind.

There was a quick shake of the head, sending brown hair flying. "I can feel, but there's no warmth to this body. It's like a hollow shell made of flesh," the boy explained. A mixture of sadness and relief passed through Ed's eyes. He truly wanted his brother to be returned to normal, but if it had been that simple…

"Then let us see how this shell fights," Ed answered. He was confused and had too many mixed feelings. The best way he knew to calm himself and settle matters was to fight.

Al threw his hands up and backed away slightly protesting, "Brother!" He barely had time to block the kick aimed at his chest, while he tried to protest.

"Outside," Mustang ordered dully from the doorway. He started to regret his order, when he barely had time to duck as Ed was flung past his head and out the door. He moved aside as Al rushed past him after his brother. Once the fight started their blood started boiling and it wouldn't stop until they were exhausted. Mustang turned and followed the brothers out into the hallway.

The crowd had been full of well wishers for Ed not long ago, and from the gasps Mustang guessed that they were still there.

The blond alchemist landed on his feet skidding for a moment, before running forward and flipping his brother over his shoulder. The younger Elric was sent flying, but he too managed to land on his feet. There was hardly a pause before the boy was running at his brother; a punch aimed at the older brother's face. The blond dropped to the ground and kicked out with his leg, knocking the boy onto his back with a thud. The crowd gasped in unison, they knew of brothers fighting, but this was all out. One of them would get hurt.

Alphonse jumped to his feet without a sound. His brother was there without missing a beat, his knee was aimed to connect with his brother's jaw, and the blow was blocked easily. Al did seem to be having a hard time blocking the blows. His body was not real, but it certainly was starting to feel it. Every blow connected with pain, especially when the blows were landed by metal limbs. The boy was not used to the pain that a fight could bring.

"What is going on here?" a female voice shrieked. "This is no way to conduct a school! The ministry will be hearing of this!" Ignoring the voice yelling at them, the boys continued their battle. "Professor, stop them!" the voice ordered the flame alchemist.

Roy looked up surprised. Umbridge stood before him fuming, and ordering him around. With a mental shrug, he lifted a hand lazily and snapped. The boys jumped apart instantly as flame erupted between the two. The young state alchemist turned to glare at his commanding officer. "How are these boys to stay prepared for their return home if they can not practice? Our home is not at peace at the moment," Roy asked innocently.

"Even if your home is at war, battle here is not conducted hand to hand!" Umbridge informed them stubbornly.

Black eyes flashed in amusement, while Roy commanded quietly, "Full Metal."

The younger alchemist grinned and nodded before clapping his hands together and slamming them against the ground. Bright light flashed and a cage sprung up from the floor and surrounded the younger Elric. With a glare the caged boy pulled out a piece of chalk and sketched a transmutation circle quickly. There was another flash of light as the boy touched the circle and Ed found himself several feet above the floor, trapped by a hand made from the floor.

"Nice, Al," the alchemist complimented while sketching a tiny transmutation on the inside of the hand. Pressing a finger to it, he fell several feet and the floor around his brother surged up to toss the boy off balance. Nothing happened, though. Al looked up to see his brother with a smirk across his face.

The brown-haired boy whitened. His brother was planning something and wanted him to follow his lead. "Brother! No!" he called, but it was too late. He had to join now. Ed's hands clapped together and slammed against the floor. An instant later, a transmutation circle glowed and the Colonel found himself trapped in a wooden box listening to the laughing as the boys ran away as fast as possible.

Glaring at the walls half-heartedly, the Colonel raised his glove and snapped his fingers. The box went up in flame, just in time for the bullet to hit the wall next to his head. Looking up in shock, the Colonel nearly fell over. "Hawkeye?" he called as the smoke cleared. Sure enough she stood in front of him, gun aimed at his head.

"I received a letter from Edward not long ago, after passing an idea past the Furher I found myself ordered to join you," she answered the unasked question, lowering her gun. She saluted quickly, before adding, "I bring a message from Sciezka and Winry."

**A/N:** Okay and somehow they keep getting shorter, but finally here we go! Finally getting into the actual plot! Now pay attention everyone it's coming… this monster! A plot monster! It will eat you if you aren't careful! Seriously though, I think I need more sleep.

Anyway, I was glad to see that conversation my comment on Envy sparked. I haven't finished the series, yet, so spoilers are making me cry. :P Let me know if I make mistakes and I'll either acknowledge or fix them. Most corrections will be made soonish.. as soon as I have five minutes to fix and reload everything. Let me know what you thought and a big thank you for reviewing and reading!


	8. Guardians

Three blue military uniforms and a grey shirt were huddled together. More precisely the black haired military man was leaning back with his feet propped up on his desk while the others gathered around. As relaxed as he looked, there was a frown working its way across his features.

"The letter from the two girls," the Colonel started slowly, "has me worried." A pile of ash on the desk was the only evidence of a letter ever existing. Each of the people in the room had read and memorized the letter. They were working undercover, and while they spoke another language, there was still the possibility that someone could uncover their true orders.

"We should hurry and get home as soon as possible, sir," the blond officer said. Her brown eyes showed no emotion, but the people in the room had known her long enough to understand she was concerned with the situation. She was levelheaded and clear thinking. They understood that when she recommended something they should listen.

Even the sarcastic alchemist, Ed, was taking this serious. All jokes about height and stature had been put off for the time being by his Colonel and the group realized it was serious. "With Al here I should be able to start searching the library here faster for hints," the blond boy informed them. His little brother nodded agreement.

"If worse comes to worse we'll hunt down this Voldemort and take care of him ourselves," the Colonel told the group, "We're getting out of here as quickly as possible." There was a short pause, before the Colonel's smirk reappeared on his face, "Shrimp, isn't it past your bed time? We don't want you getting detention."

"WHO ARE YOU CALLING SO SMALL A SHRIMP COULDN'T SEE?" Ed hollered as his brother grabbed his arms.

Half laughing in relief, half in annoyance Al whispered, "Brother, calm down! He didn't say that."

"Lt. Hawkeye? Is Alphonse taller than Ed?" Roy whispered. He truly hadn't intended on incurring Ed's wrath this time. He just wanted to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Luck wasn't on his side, as the boy started screaming louder. A small smile crossed the woman's face as the two boys left the room loudly.

Turning her brown eyes back to her commanding officer, she spoke quietly, "I was beginning to wonder if I was the only one to notice that."

* * *

Pumpkins and bats crowded the Great Hall as the Gryffindor trio ate breakfast excited for the trip to Hogsmeade. A small commotion at the door to the hall made them look up curiously. It was the Elric brothers. The two boys rolled their eyes and went back to eating. Hermione watched the brothers with a small smile. "It's their first Halloween, and their first trip to Hogsmeade," she said. Her friends just nodded while continuing to eat.

The brothers made their way to the table and sat down next to Hermione with smiles. "So this is that holiday, you were telling me about?" Ed asked her. It seemed strange enough. Pumpkins were spread through the school and there were bats set loose. Every country had their holidays; even Amestris had their fair share of strange ones.

Hermione nodded excitedly, "And we're going to Hogsmeade today, are you going to come?"

Al looked up from where he had been building a house out of his unused dishes. So far he was missing half of the roof, but that would be fixed as soon as Ed gave up trying to use silverware and pulled out the chopsticks he had brought. With a glance at the bushy haired girl he asked, "What's Hogsmeade?"

Ron looked up suddenly, his food left behind for a moment, "It's the wizarding village not far from here. Third years and up get to go and we run around to the different shops all day. There's Zonko's, which is a joke shop. Oh and the Shrieking Shack. You have to come!" If nothing else excited him, candy and butterbeer did.

"Can we go, brother?" Al asked excitedly.

Tossing his silverware to his brother in annoyance, the alchemist pulled his chopsticks out and started to eat with a simple, "Sure, Al."

The group fell silent as the house was finished and breakfast attacked. As it turned out the house was two stories and even had a porch, though no one was quite sure how Al had managed to build it. Even Ed looked at his brother oddly before they stood up to head for Hogsmeade.

The group made it to the door where Professor McGonagall and Mr. Filch were checking names off of students as they left. The trio made it past, but paused when they heard the Elric's getting stopped.

"I'm sorry boys but you needed to get this permission slip signed by your parents or guardians," McGonagall explained quietly to them. She held out two permission slips.

"Our mother's dead," Al told her quietly.

Ed's eyes flashed, "And our _father _has been missing for years." He spat out the word father, he hated the man with a passion.

"Your guardians, then?" the Professor asked.

Ed took the permission slips out of the Professor's hand. With a small sigh he pulled a quill and signed his name on it. Handing it back to the outraged looking professor, he shrugged at her sadly.

"What do you think you are doing?" she asked angrily. That is before her eyes fell on the paper. There scribbled sloppily was Ed's name. She looked up surprised.

Looking at his brother Ed said, "I am his guardian. If I can't go then at least he can go." With a smile for his brother, he just shrugged it off, "I'll get working on that research we have to do, brother."

The blond alchemist turned and started to walk towards the stairs leaving his brother staring at his back. After a moment he turned around, "Al! Don't even think of bringing home a cat! Once we leave here we won't be able to take care of it." Al looked ready to protest, but Ed ignored him and turned away, walking up the stairs. There were books calling his name.

With a defeated sigh, Al turned and joined the three fifth years at the door. He wasn't stopped; there wasn't anything they could do. Ed technically was his brother's guardian and had been since he was eleven. The idea that the pair had been left to fend for themselves so many years ago shocked the two adults into silence and they hardly noticed Alphonse leaving.

The walk to the carriage was short and silent, until Al saw the creatures pulling the carriages. He backed away instantly, "Chimeras!"

"What are you looking at?" Ron asked confused.

Harry answered quietly, "He can see the creatures pulling the carriages." Turning to Al, he nodded and motioned for him to get in the carriage for an explanation.

It was a bumpy but eventful ride as Harry explained that the creatures could only be seen if the viewer had seen someone die.

Without thinking the red-head blurted out, "Who did you see die?" He went white and was hit by Hermione the minute he realized what he had said.

Al only looked at the floor and answered after a moment, "More people than I care to remember." He had nearly died himself, his brother had nearly died. Death was not a topic he liked to think about.

The bushy-haired girl stepped in sensing his mood, "Ed's your guardian? How have you two managed to survive this long without adults?" She was wide eyed with curiosity and surprise. The two boys looked up expectantly as well.

Al told them the truth as much as he could, "Ed took jobs where he could. We're not that bad off; we actually have a lot of money that he's saved up from work." It was true that Ed had worked; he just didn't mention it was as a state alchemist for the military. With a small grin, Al added, "Though there have been days when Ed thought he would die of starvation."

The carriage rolled to a stop and the group jumped out into the chilly air. The town was bustling with wizards roaming around bags held tightly in their hands. "It looks like Central," Al commented. People ran around doing their own business, the shop doors were propped open. The only difference was what the stores sold. There were owls sitting in windows for sale, odd posters with pictures that moved and broomsticks.

The trio exchanged looks and Hermione turned to Al. Quietly she said, "Al, we've got something we have to do concerning Defense Against the Dark Arts. You can come with us if you're interested otherwise we can meet you later."

The brown haired boy considered for a moment, he knew what his brother's mission was, and if his brother couldn't be here to watch Harry then he would do it. "I'll come," he said after a moment.

Hermione nodded and they started forward again. Al was led past the owl store, what looked to be a joke shop, and even a tavern. He was quickly led into the questionable part of town. The boy nearly fell over in shock. He had not thought that the three were dealing in this type of thing, but he seemed to be wrong. Hogwarts was supposed to be a less dangerous mission than anything they had done before.

Bushy-haired but with a grin on her face, Hermione nervously pushed open a door to the Hog's Head. Al looked the sign over curiously. Ed had brought him to odd places but this one was new. When he walked in he immediately went on guard. The patrons of the building seemed to be shady. He could have entered in his normal state and not have raised an eyebrow. The young alchemist felt as if he had walked into the homonculi's headquarters. Instinctively, the boy pulled a piece of chalk out of his pocket and held it tightly in his hand. He would be prepared if anything happened.

"Four butterbeers," Hermione ordered for the group.

"Make that three, I'm not thirsty," Al informed the barman. He received strange looks from the three Gryffindors, but they shook it off as the drinks were passed out. With nervous glances towards the door the four made their way to the back of the room where they sat down at a table.

Al stopped paying attention to what the others were saying as he sketched a quick transmutation circle on the table, just in case. He nearly jumped when the door opened again and a group of twenty five students. The patrons of the inn looked interested as the group ordered butterbeers and chatted making their way to the back of the building. It looked as if the place was never this busy. Al sat up straighter in his seat; he had never seen half of these people before.

The meeting seemed to begin and much to the boy's shock, he found that they were going to form lessons with Harry as the teacher. There was talk of 'You-Know-Who' and this Lord Voldemort. It was difficult for Al to follow, but it seemed as if Harry had fought this man before and succeeded on several accounts to get away free. Not wanting to seem ignorant but needing to know Al spoke up quietly, "Is this Voldemort the Dark Lord I keep hearing about?"

The group fell silent and stared at him in shock. They had never met someone at Hogwarts who did not know who Voldemort was. Alphonse could merely wait until Ron nodded dully.

"Where ya been mate?" a red-headed boy asked suddenly. A few laughs sounded at the question.

"Amestris, all over Amestris," he answered quietly.

His answer seemed to bring Hermione to her senses and she turned to him, "It would also be a good idea if we could learn as much defense as possible." Her eyes pleaded with him, "I was hoping that you and Ed could come in there. Extra lessons in alchemy? You're country is at war, isn't it? It would help you and Ed stay in shape."

Al winced visibly at her words. "We are not truly at war, it's more of making peace after the Ishbal Massacre," just saying the words was pain enough. They had seen enough death and pain caused by the war years after it was over. "I will talk to brother about it if you want, but he'll be a hard teacher," he informed the group.

One of the students he did not know spoke up, "He's taught our Alchemy class before, he wasn't hard then."

"You didn't willingly ask him for defense lessons. He will teach you defense with alchemy and without," Al said. He knew his brother all too well.

Hermione quickly scanned the room and asked, "Does this sound good to everyone?" There were several nods of agreement and it was taken as a yes. The meeting continued with the group signing a piece of parchment, excluding Al. Slowly, the group split up, leaving in twos and threes. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Al stood outside the tavern with serious expressions.

"Oh let's go have some fun, it's Al's first Halloween!" Hermione exclaimed. She looked over at Al, but he wasn't there. "Al?" she called.

There was a muffled sound from the alley next to the tavern, and within a few seconds Al appeared at the girl's side, "Let's go."

**A/N**: Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow! And please give me a day without school. Anyway, hope everyone enjoyed this chapter. I had to hunt down my copy of the Harry Potter book and start rereading. And yes I know the first Hogsmeade trip is not on Halloween, but for my purposes it is.

Read, review… let me know what you think.

And now for some responses! Actually a ton of responses! Over 100 reviews! That's amazing! Thank you everyone!

**Cathelina** – Ta da! A Riza! She'll shock those girls soon enough! Thanks!

**WildfireDreams** – Am working on it! Thanks!

**Eighth Deadly Sin** – Hope this is better? I'm trying to get them longer, but some just have to end. As for EdWin… I've had my life threatened by Oblivion Dragon if I make it one. So I think for now I'll stay away from there…

**SeaLover456** – Ed goodness for you! Hope you enjoyed! And more spying and spilling of secrets will come! Though, I always did want to know what happened to Fluffy.. he was so cute!

**BlackMercifulFaerie** – It worked! Sweetness! Thank you so much! I love these things called lines! Now as for this freezing in Liousiana…hmph! I'm in Massachusetts! It was snowing earlier and I was walking around outside in just a sweatshirt. I love the cold! Now for my ickle screw up… I haven't really been introduced to Izumi, yet. I've seen one or two episodes with her, but she hasn't transmuted anything yet. Will have to fix that later! Thanks!

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**AVTRKATARA** – Did I put an extra a in there? Who knows! Glad you liked it!

**OblivionDragon** – Weirdo! Where are those constant reviews, huh? Oh well you are the one that gets the sneak preview at school. I heart my long lost triplet:P

**Lunatic Pandora1** – Nope no wand for Ed. I just think it would be too strange for him to have a wand. Ed with a wand? He would poke someone's eye out! And sorry Al's a human, but he's not technically. He'll be armor again at one point or another!

**AngstReflection** – Thankies!

**GamerGirlGG** – Ha ha, has been pointed out and will be fixed. Thanks for the information, though! And Ron oh dear Ron… I love him!

**Animeobsession** – Thanks!

**ProzacFairy** – Yay for joining the ranks of the mad! I can never seem to get it into my head that the characters aren't real, so you aren't alone!

**Madison** – Harry and Ed will have a long chat eventually… but it may not be for a VERY long time. But keep looking for it! Ha ha, why would I lie about updating everyday? Silly! No idea about homunculi and transmutation… maybe someone else knows?

**Iced Perfection** – Thanks! Glad you like it!

**Qtip** – I love the name. And I'm updating as much as humanly possible right now.

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**L33tbunny** – You wouldn't have happened to been at Anime Boston 2005 and erm… glomped a boy in a pink shirt that said '6 foot tall bunny' did you? If you were her… wow! Lol, glad you like it! I'm updating, I'm updating!

**Mizu no Youkai** – Ha ha glad to see you back!

**EbonyFirePhoenix** – Tada! It's the amazing Al!

**AnimeBaya** – Is Envy a boy? Everyone has me confused now!

**Silver windflame** – Updated!

**Capuleto** – Am writing away!

**Appariation7 **– Updating I am and up to something I am! Hope you enjoy!

**Halli05** – Stupid site:P

**AnimeOtaku54** – Spoilers! Eek! But interesting!

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**Al's-Best-Friend** – Ha ha, thankies!

**Ceosel** – What I take an English class? Oh.. you mean that class that I sleep through…  And if you were wondering I'm writing this as I go. Hope you enjoy!

**Alanna** – Eating my story? Hope it tastes good!

**Coughkouichicough** – Awww thanks! I was wondering if I was making Ed too emotional.. but dang he's going into shock with everything at the school! And lookie! Al's taller!

**Peophin-chan** – W00t for reviewing! Glad you liked it and don't worry I'm not putting off school work or anything important for this.. just sleep… But who needs that?

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Thanks again everyone!


	9. Rules of Amestris

The blue uniform stood out against the dark red and black book covers in the library. The blond hair was barely visible over the stack of books piled on the table in front of the young alchemist. He was bent over, reading through the books as quickly as possible. The library was empty, not even the librarian was there. As a result, Edward had the peace he needed.

"You let him sign as his brother's guardian?" a harsh female voice drifted into the library. The alchemist recognized it immediately as Professor Umbridge. His eye twitched in annoyance and he stood up. Quietly, he made his way to the door. The blond boy made sure to stay out of sight.

Golden eyes watched as Professor McGonagall merely nodded in answer to the accusation, while Professor Dumbledore answered for her, "According to Professor Mustang, Edward has taken care of his brother since he was eleven. In my eyes that makes him the boy's guardian."

Umbridge was furious, "He's not a legal adult yet!"

Black eyes flashed in annoyance, but the voice remained calm as Colonel Roy Mustang answered, "He is in Amestris."

The man's ever loyal Lieutenant nodded in agreement, "He may be young, but he has been through more than most adults. The two boys did not have much of a childhood, especially Edward."

The boy in questioned stepped out from his hiding place with a salute to his commander and the Lieutenant. "If you do not accept my position as Alphonse's guardian," he spoke to the shock of the British adults, "I give you permission to try and find father, if he is alive. Or if that does not appeal to you, you may send a letter to Pinako, our neighbor from before we burned our house down." He paused for a moment judging it better to add a small explanation, "On purpose, that is."

The ministry official opened her mouth to object, but the Colonel interjected before she could speak, "If that does not satisfy you, then I suggest that you contact King Bradley, himself. I doubt he will take kindly for being disturbed for such a trivial matter, however."

The brown eyed Lieutenant sensed the mood her commanding officer was in and spoke, "He did seem to take a liking to the Elrics, sir. Remember? He encouraged Alphonse to chase his dream and even came to see Edward when he was in the hospital." Mustang looked at her and then Ed a smirk on his face. There were many more reasons one could have said to explain the Fuhrer's liking of the two boys. The two examples she had given, were not even the entire truth.

Umbridge found herself fighting a losing battle and decided to switch topics. With the same amount of determination in her voice, she asked, "And why is she here?" One finger was pointing at Lieutenant Hawkeye.

The Lieutenant's fingers twitched and moved toward her gun discreetly, while Mustang's eyes grew cold and his hand rose. The young alchemist found himself backing away slowly; he did not want to be there when the two officers lost it.

Dumbledore spoke before anything drastic happened, "Colonel Mustang is much like you, Professor. He is working as a teacher, but has other jobs he must attend to. I do not prohibit you from your ministry work. I can not very well prohibit the Colonel from conducting his own business while he stays her. As a result, Lieutenant Hawkeye will be staying with us for a time."

The three foreigners kept their faces as smooth as stones, while they watched the ministry woman struggle to find a reply. All three wanted to laugh, but knew it could only cause trouble.

The silence dragged on uncomfortably, until the young alchemist couldn't take it. "Colonel," he started in his native tongue, "do you have any information on the Philosopher's Stone? I don't even know where to look in the library."

"See! This boy could be insulting us for all we know!" Umbridge accused suddenly.

Mustang's smirk fell across his face again, "You would deny us the ability to speak in our native tongue? English is not the easiest language, and we find it much more comfortable to speak to each other in our own language." Umbridge's mouth opened and closed at a loss for words, but the Colonel merely ignored her and continued by answering his subordinate in a mixture of the two languages, "Of course I'll help you with your research, Full Metal."

Without another word, the three military personnel turned and walked into the library. As the three settled down at a table, the area was slowly turned into a temporary headquarters. Hawkeye produced paperwork for Mustang; Ed questioned the Colonel and then set to work on his research, while Hawkeye held a gun to the Colonel's head. It was as if they were at home.

As the sun was beginning to set, a boy appeared at the library door and stepped inside. "Brother?" the boy called.

The three military personnel were startled out of their tasks and sat up in surprise. After a moment they realized who had called and Ed called out, "Over here, Al!"

The brown haired boy quickly found the three and slipped into an empty seat at the table. Slipping back into his native tongue, Al quickly told them of his day, "Harry and his friends are starting a secret Defense Against the Dark Arts club. Harry is going to teach other students defense since Umbridge isn't." The three nodded blankly at the news. This wasn't much of a surprise, or that big of a deal. The boy's next words, however, shocked them, "They want you to teach alchemy and defense as well."

Ed shook his head, "They're asking for trouble."

Laughter burst out of Mustang and he managed to say, "And you don't?" The younger alchemist was on his feet ready to leap across the table to strangle the man, when the Gryffindor trio walked into the library. At the sight Ed fell back and Hawkeye lowered her gun.

"I always thought you weren't supposed to attack your commanding officer," Hermione mentioned quietly with a small smile.

Ed just glared at the man in question and mumbled, "He deserved it." Before anyone could respond there was a gun shot. Mustang looked at his Lieutenant innocently lowering his hand.

"You are not allowed to burn your paperwork, sir," she said tersely.

Shaking off the shock at the odd chain of command amongst the three military personnel, Ron asked, "So, what are you doing in here?"

Ed turned his unhappy gaze to his brother, "Telling Al he can't keep the cat."

The brown haired boy froze, "How did you…?" His hands fell instinctively around his pocket where a small lump was.

The alchemist shook his head, "You know we can't keep it."

"Let him keep it, Ed," Mustang interjected a double meaning in his words. He was half telling the boy to keep close to Harry and teach these alchemy lessons.

The boy turned and snapped at the Colonel in his native language, "Are you offering to take care of it while we run around on your stupid missions, then?"

A smirk fell across the man's face and he answered, "Of course not, but I am positive that Havoc would care for it for you."

There was a gun shot, a yell of horror and then the sound of running feet. When the smoke from the gun cleared, Al and Ed were gone, only their voices trailing behind them. There was a tiny bullet hole in the wall behind the Colonel, and Hawkeye had her gun aimed.

"Why did you do that? You know that Havoc mentioned eating Black Hayate!" Riza asked plainly.

"Why to be alone with such a beautiful woman, of course," the Colonel answered. With a glance at the three Gryffindor students he waved his hand, "Get out of here you three."

Hawkeye glared at the man and shot again, this time hitting not far from his ear. The bullet kept the Colonel too busy to see the red fading from her face.

"I didn't do any-" the man started unhappily.

"You have paper work to do, sir," Hawkeye stated firmly, changing the subject while she still could.

**A/N:** Am sitting here all dolled up and waiting for the Prince Kadaj to come and take me to the dance tonight. Though I seriously doubt it's going to happen. If not I guess I'll have to settle for my rugged Scotsman taking me. Anyway… hope y'all enjoy. Dance in the snow, review and let me know what you think.

As for a few reviews… please don't attempt to kill **Oblivion**… the after dance party is at her house tonight… Advent Children, pool and hot tub. I really am looking forward to that. Broom sticks…? Who knows! And kitties! Awww I love kitties!

If anyone sees Kadaj send him my way! begs


	10. Choices

"Come in and take your seats quietly," the normally relaxed male voice ordered sternly. The class filed in silently, confused looks assign over their faces as they took the appropriate seats. It was only when someone pointed to the ministry witch sitting in the corner with a scroll and quill that realization dawned on the class. The Colonel was acting for the Professor.

The man's smirk had not left his lips, though, much to Edward's delight for once. The smirk meant that the man was going to do something. The young alchemist kept his face smooth, only his eyes throwing a questioning look at his superior officer. They were answered by a look that said 'you will see'.

Charcoal eyes lit up evilly as he looked the class over before saying, "We have a pop quiz today, class." In unison the class groaned and the man's smirk widened. After this class, they would love pop quizzes. Mustang turned his attention to the woman in the corner, "Could I receive your help, Professor?"

Startled Umbridge looked up appalled and confused. Eyes furrowed in thought, she shook her head, "I am only here to observe."

Mustang nodded his understanding but explained slightly, "I only thought that your help in this quiz would enhance your understanding of the subject so that you may do your job to the fullest extent. But if you insist I shall have Lieutenant Hawkeye assist us." Raising his voice, the man called, "Lieutenant Hawkeye!" Wordlessly, the blond woman appeared in the door way of his office and saluted. He waved her down the stairs to his side and motioned for Ed to come to his side.

"Ed, use a transmutation circle to put the Lieutenant in a cage, with bars," the man instructed when the two were at his side.

"Do what?" Ed asked not sure he had heard the man clearly.

"Put the Lieutenant in a cage," Mustang repeated slowly and clearly.

Ed eyed the woman warily before shaking his head, "She'll shoot me."

"Sir?" Riza Hawkeye interjected. "Why not just ask Full Metal to change my pants into a mini-skirt?" she asked sarcastically, her hand dropping to next to her gun.

Roy looked at the woman as if she was a genius, before clapping his hands together. "Great idea! Make it a mini-skirt, Ed!" Before anyone could respond there was a bang of a gun firing and the woman stormed out.

"Perhaps it would be a good idea, if I helped out," Umbridge offered uncertainly from the corner. The idea that a gun had been fired so close to children had her shocked and she would report it as soon as possible, but first they had to get through the class safely. Mustang smiled at her thankfully, still making sure that he wasn't missing any body parts from the other woman's anger. Umbridge cautiously made her way to the front of the room.

With a wave from the Colonel, Ed nodded and grabbed a piece of chalk. Within moments a large intricate array was drawn around the Professor's feet. Hands pressed against the drawing and a blue light flashed. A moment later the woman found herself in a large stone cage made of twisting bars with the symbol of a cross, with a snake twisting around it carved into the top of the cage.

Ed returned to his seat silently, a look of pure evil happiness radiating from his face. Mustang spoke just as the boy sat, "You're pop quiz is to free the Professor using alchemy. You each have one try." With a glance back at Ed, he added a small, "You are far past this level, you test was to make the cage and you will remake it every time it is destroyed." The blond boy merely rolled his eyes and leaned back in his seat.

Five students into the class and Professor Umbridge had yet to be freed from her cage. It looked as if most of the students had weighed their test grade against keeping the ministry woman locked up and the latter had one. Edward and Roy both new for a fact that the students in the class were capable of completing the task given to them. At this time of year they had already moved on to several harder tasks, especially since the array that the class needed was drawn on the board with notes around it. Each student looked intensely at the drawing, studying it and imitating it almost perfectly. Each student would make one small mistake, however, and the transmutation would fail.

Mustang stood patiently watching as his last student drew the array with precision, taking care of leave out a small triangle. His smirk grew, only the Slytherins had freed the woman.

The door to the classroom flew open and a fourth man in a blue uniform entered, a cigarette held loosely between his lips. The man did a lazy salute and sauntered towards the Colonel. "We've got some trouble, sir," he said in his native tongue.

"Second Lieutenant Havoc!" the Colonel managed to say in surprise. "What is going on? My entire command is showing up here!"

"There's a situation, sir," the man repeated this time more firmly still in his native tongue.

Mustang nodded curtly before turning to his class, "Class dismissed, now everyone out. Elric free the Professor and then retrieve Hawkeye for me." The students looked at the new arrival curiously wondering what had made the Colonel so tense, but did as they were told.

Without a word, Ed moved to the front of the class clapped his hands and freed the woman inside. Then he took off for the Colonel's office to retrieve the Lieutenant. "What is going on?" Umbridge asked sharply, standing as soon as she was free. She eyed the new man warily.

"Military matters, ma'am," the Colonel answered quietly.

She glared at the uniformed men, "And this couldn't wait until after class?"

Havoc shook his head already annoyed with the woman, but answered her, "We may only be here for a short time. I need to brief the Colonel and then we may be leaving to take care of the matter tonight."

"I will take Elric and leave then," the woman informed them after a moment, indignation in her eyes.

The Colonel shook his head, "Edward must stay. This will be part of his training." Infuriated the woman turned on her heels and left the classroom as Elric and Hawkeye appeared at the office door.

**A/N:** Well… sorry it's short and took so long! I've been extremely busy between college applications, semi-formal, my sister coming home and school. Hope y'all enjoy this. And here's our lovely Havoc! Have to love the guy! And what will they be leaving to do? Who knows! Oh wait… the author does! And that's me:P

Let me know what you think! Thanks for the reviews! I'll get responses sent out eventually… When I have another five minutes! And a big old thanks to anyone reading this! It's great to know that people actually find this interesting enough to read ten chapters!


	11. Midnight

Silence reigned over the empty classroom as the military personnel watched the angry woman leave the room. The door slammed shut behind the ministry witch and Mustang turned his attention to the blond man that had arrived, "Second Lieutenant, what is going on?"

Jean Havoc shifted his cigarette in his mouth and blew out a puff of smoke before answering, "Sir, we received word that one of our alchemists, placed here to work her way into the Dark Lord's inner circled, has been captured. With her alchemic abilities it is imperative that we retrieve her and send her home."

The Colonel nodded and asked, "What do we know about her?"

"Lieutenant Mana Giber, the Water Alchemist. She was sent here about two years ago to infiltrate the Dark Lord's circle. Her target was Darren Giber, one of the Dark Lord's few single Death Eaters. Posing as a muggle with no alchemy or magic she married the man several months ago. We had been receiving steady reports from her until a few days ago," Havoc rattled off the words that had been drilled into his head.

The Colonel cursed violently, "So that explained her disappearance two years ago and why no one would tell me where she went!" Eyes narrowed slightly as he mumbled, "And I thought she had tried to dump me the hard way." There was a crack as a fresh bullet was fired and slammed into the wall a centimeter from the Colonel's ear. The stern female voice of the man's Lieutenant called out, "Concentrate!" Only the small blond boy noticed the normal calm look on her face had been replaced with annoyance and a small flush.

"We have been ordered to retrieve her without being identified. The Furher requested that we work at night if possible," the second Lieutenant continued as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened.

Mustang smirked and looked at the younger alchemist, "Well you'll be safe, midget. No one will even see you!" Black eyes flashed in amusement as the blond started screaming in anger. A second bullet was fired and landed in the center of a transmutation circle that had been drawn onto the wall behind Full Metal. The alchemist fell silent and inched away from the angry woman slowly.

A strange silence fell across the room, the only noise coming from the hallway as students made their way to their next classes. The door to the room opened and fourth year students began to file into the room only pausing in confusion for a moment when they saw the four blue uniforms instead of one.

Hawkeye was suddenly glad that the four had chosen to speak in their native language at the sight of the students. A low voice in her native tongue, brought the woman's attention back to her commanding officer, "I hope you have been practicing how to combat magic with alchemy, Full Metal. Tomorrow you will teach me all that you know and then our mission will begin."

The blond boy eyed his commander as if he had lost his mind, "I have classes to attend, remember?"

Mustang answered him without a pause, "I will talk to the headmaster. Dismissed." The man's three subordinates saluted and made to move away, but were stopped short when Mustang spoke to the class in front of them in English, "Class, today Edward Elric will be teaching you."

"What?" Ed shouted turning on the man.

The Colonel smirked and turned away, "I have planning to do, Full Metal. Be nice to them." The blond boy had no time to protest before the Colonel disappeared into his office with the gun happy woman and smoking man following him unhappily.

Fuming, the alchemist turned back to the class to see two students just walking in, both of which he recognized immediately. "Alphonse," the alchemist said his voice low and deadly.

The brown haired boy looked up surprised and color drained from his face slightly, "Big.. brother…?"

"You're late, Al, Ginny," Ed said quietly. Golden eyes demanded an explanation and someone to take their frustration out on.

Alphonse looked his older brother over quickly; he knew something was wrong from the way the boy held himself and the way his hands were clenched. "We were taking Orion to Hagrid. I think he's sick," the boy explained cautiously.

Edward raised an eyebrow in question, "Orion?"

Al looked away from his brother quickly and reluctantly answered, "My cat."

Ed exploded. "I told you to take the cat back to where you found it!" he shouted. "You know we can't take care of it when we return home!"

"I couldn't just leave it! And the Colonel said I could keep it!" Al protested.

Ed threw his hands up, his shirt sleeve falling down slightly, exposing a glint of metal to the class for a moment. "The Colonel also said that we could leave it with Havoc when we were on leave!" the blond alchemist answered angrily.

The red door to Mustang's office swung open and the blond Second Lieutenant stepped out with a questioning look written on his face, "What about me? And what's all the screaming about?"

The brown haired boy backed away from the man slightly, "Don't go near Orion! And stop being a jerk, brother!"

A cool voice called out from the depths of the office, "Full Metal, you are supposed to be teaching my class, not screaming at the students."

The blond boy let out a strangled yell and cursed the Colonel in his native language. Angry beyond belief, the boy slapped his hands together and slammed them against the floor. Blue light flashed, temporarily blinding the silent students in the class room and a large brick wall appeared around the Colonel's door.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk, Ed?" Al shouted at his brother.

"Leave me alone, Al!" the blond boy shouted at his brother. The younger Elric ran out of the classroom and with a glare at the class the older brother followed.

* * *

Black hair hung loosely around the small girls face as wind blew lightly. She pulled the red cloak around her body tightly trying to keep the warmth from escaping as she knocked lightly on the wooden door in front of her.

A light blossomed inside the house and a gruff looking man pulled the door open. The man's black hair was going every which way, ruffled from his pillow, and his eyes were muddled with sleep. "What do you want? It's past midnight!" he asked roughly. Brown eyes slowly started to focus in on the girl standing meekly on his front steps.

The black haired girl raised her head nervously before softly answering, "I'm sorry, sir. I was looking for Mana or Darren Giber."

"I'm Darren Giber," the man answered gruffly, "Couldn't this have waited until morning?"

The young girl shook her head no before launching herself at the man. Her small arms wrapped around the man's waist tightly. Hot tears soaked through the man's shirt and he stared down at her confused. Uncertain of what to do, Darren gently patted the girl on the back. He was hoping that she would calm down so he could figure out what was going on.

Watery golden eyes stared up at the man after the girl had calmed down and pulled away. A smile broke across the girl's face, "I finally found you Uncle Darren!"

"Uncle?" Darren asked blinking several times. This had to be a dream; he had no brothers or sisters. His wife, she had one brother but he had no children.

"Uncle Roy said he would send you a letter about my arrival," the girl prattled, "but I told him that I would get here first. The train is a lot faster than that silly snail mail!" Pausing she peeked behind the man, "Where's Aunt Mana?"

"She went to stay with a friend for a few weeks," Darren answered after a moment. "Why are you here?" he asked confused. He really did not need this.

Gold eyes fell to the floor and the girl fell silent. The wind seemed to infect her more now. She shivered slightly before looking back up at her Uncle a sad smile on her face, "Mama always said never air dirty laundry in public. Can I come in and tell you?"

Darren nodded mutely and stepped out of the door way. The young girl stepped into his house and the light revealing a light pink dress that fell to her ankles, and a white long sleeved shirt underneath it as well as two white gloves. She came empty handed. The door closed with a thump behind the girl and she jumped slightly.

Pink girl, as Darren, was now calling the girl in his head, followed her Uncle down a short hallway into a small kitchen. Dirty pans were scattered across the counter and the sink was full of murky water. Food was still lying about on the table waiting to be used and half drank glasses of water and various other liquids. Most noticeable, though, was the empty beer bottles.

"Uncle Darren?" the girl asked quietly, "How long has Aunt Mana been gone now?"

The man grunted, but from the frightened look on the girls face he winced and answered, "About a week now." He sank into a chair at the table and looked at his niece closely, "What's your name?"

The girl stood at the edge of the table eyeing it as if it might bite, but she smiled sweetly at her uncle and answered, "Kira."

"And why are you here, Kira?" he asked as kindly as possible.

The girl paused, "I was born fourteen years ago, after my parents met. My Daddy was a soldier in the military in Amestris and Mama was a waitress. Daddy left before Mama knew that she was going to have me and she never heard from him again. She was fine with it, though. She raised me by herself, until just recently." The girl paused her eyes brimming with tears, "Mama got sick and died, but she sent me to find Daddy. I went to Central and asked around, but no one knew. That is until I found Uncle Roy. He was a close friend of Daddy's. He told me that Daddy died years ago in a rebellion. Uncle Roy told me that he would have taken me in but he had 'two brats he had to take care of already'. So he found out where Aunt Mana went and sent me to find her. I don't have any other living family."

Darren nearly fell out of his seat. He couldn't kick the girl out of his house, she was family. It might send people looking for her, too. Brown eyes closed for a moment before the man looked at his niece warily, "You can stay for now, but when your Aunt returns I'll have to discuss this with her."

The young girl jumped on her Uncle and hugged him, "Thank you, Uncle Darren!"

* * *

Eyes flashed angrily and triumphantly as the witch burst into what had turned into military headquarters. Umbridge slammed a letter down on the table in front of Colonel Mustang. "Edward is not to go on this mission by order of the Ministry," she informed the man.

The three officers at the table looked up at her curiously. Mustang picked up the letter and read it over quickly. With a frown he tossed it back on the table. "First, your ministry has no right to order what I can and can not do with my Academy student," Mustang answered the usual smirk gone from his face. "And secondly, he's already left. I discussed the issue with Dumbledore and Edward has been excused from his classes until this is over."

"Bring him back," Umbridge ordered sternly.

The black haired Colonel rose from his chair, "I can't."

"Bring him back," the woman repeated no intimidated by the man towering over her.

Mustang glared into the woman's eyes, "Pulling him out now could get him killed. Do you want to have his death on your conscious?"

**A/N:** And that's that. I made it longer, not terribly long but longer. Hope y'all liked. Review and let me know what you thought. Sorry it took so long to get updated; family is coming home, holidays, you the usual. I'll hopefully fall back into my regular updates soon! Enjoy!


	12. Brother!

Kira shook her black hair out, it had been a long night, and today was looking like it was going to be a longer day. She had arrived from home past midnight, and here she was awake at dawn, just like she had been at home. Golden eyes closed as she yawned, she was extremely tired but sleep was evading her.

Giving up, she crawled out of her new bed. "Make the morning go away," she mumbled to herself in her native tongue, as she searched for something to wear. She had brought a small suitcase of clothes, and it was full of dresses. For a girl she really didn't like dresses, she preferred to wear pants. Uncle Roy had insisted on buying her some dresses, though. He had told her that Uncle Darren and Aunt Mana would love to see her wearing dresses, how could she refuse that? With a shake of her head and an annoyed frown at the lack of black or red dresses, she chose a light green one. With a smile, she looked in the mirror and pulled her hair back into a ponytail.

There was a light knocking on the door, and Kira pulled it open to find her Uncle standing there. "I was just seeing if you were up. Breakfast is on the table," Darren told her with a smile. She nodded and followed him out of her room to the kitchen.

The small kitchen table where their late night discussion had magically been cleaned and was set with two plates, both brimming with eggs and toast. Tall glasses of orange juice sat waiting patiently. "I thought if you were up, we could have breakfast and talk. There are a few things I need to tell you if you're going to be staying here," her Uncle said with a small smile.

Kira looked at him with a small smile, "I don't do drugs or alcohol, if that's what you are worried about."

Darren's lips slipped into a small smile and he nodded, "Good to know, but not what I was going to tell you." His grin faltered and he looked at her seriously, "You may not believe me, but I'm a Wizard and practice magic."

Kira's golden eyes blinked and the girl smiled, "So you're an alchemist? There was one in my home town oh and the famous Elric brothers stopped in our town for a night!"

Darren's eyes flashed a hidden emotion for a moment, "I'm not an alchemist I'm a wizard. We use wands to make things appear out of nothing. Your Aunt told me that alchemy is a science, while magic… is well not." Kira nodded, her bright eyes full of interest. At that moment an owl flew into the room through a window. Kira jumped, her eyes following the bird uncertainly. Darren merely pulled a few coins from his pocket and inserted them in the bird's purse. The bird dropped the paper on the table and took off out the window again. "It's one of the perks of being a wizard," the man explained to his niece, "Owls deliver our mail, much more reliable than the muggle post system."

* * *

The sound of pounding footsteps brought Al out of his conversation with Neil, as the two boys moved down the hallway. They had just left their alchemy class and were going to lunch when Hermione, Harry, and Ron slid to a stop in front of them. "Al!" Hermione said brightly, her bushy hair wilder than normal from the running.

Al stopped and shot the three fifth years a smile, motioning for Neil to go on without him, his girlfriend was waiting in the Great Hall already. "Hello," Al greeted them.

Ron grinned at the younger boy before asking, "Do you know where Ed is? We want to tell him that the first DA meeting is going to be tonight, but we haven't seen him in two days."

Al's eyes furrowed, "I haven't seen him since we got into a fight. He hasn't been in bed or at meals or classes?" He was worried now; it wasn't like his brother to go missing. As the two boys shook their heads in the affirmative, Al turned and walked back into the alchemy classroom. "Colonel?" he called in his native language, the three Griffyndors following him quietly.

Black hair smoothed back perfectly, and the trademark smirk on his face, the military officer stepped out of his office, followed by his two Lieutenants. "Alphonse, what can I do for you?" he responded in his native tongue.

The question visible in his eyes, he asked, "Big brother?"

Puzzlement overcame the three officer's faces and Hawkeye asked, "He didn't tell you?"

"Tell me what?" Al asked his worry clear in his voice.

Roy nodded to his two officers and quietly explained in his native tongue, "Full Metal is on a mission right now."

"We're already on a mission," Al protested.

"The Furher ordered that we find and rescue one of our alchemist's that was captured by the Dark Lord, Edward is gathering information for us," the Colonel explained patiently. Al nodded after a moment, and turned around leaving the room quietly.

Outside the classroom the three Gryffindors started questioning him, "Did you find out where he is?" Al nodded and was asked, "Well, where is he?"

Blinking golden orbs, Al came out of his thoughts and answered, "Training mission. He won't be able to come tonight, but I can try in his stead if you would like."

"I hope it's nothing too dangerous," Hermione told Al, the concern audible in her voice.

The boy shrugged, an expression he had picked up from the other students, "Knowing Colonel Mustang it could be anything from doing the paperwork that he's behind on, or tracking down a wanted murder."

Three pairs of eyes widened. "Tracking down a murderer?" Harry asked. His thoughts went to his Godfather. He didn't want Ed or Sirius to get injured, though it would most likely be Edward in Harry's mind.

Assuming that the concern was for his brother's safety, Al quickly explained, "Don't worry. Brother has tracked murders down before; in fact he saved Winry from one. He can take care of himself."

The trio nodded mutely, before Hermione asked, "Isn't it dangerous, though? He's just a kid. Aren't they worried he's going to get killed?"

Al grinned slightly, "Well, he signed up for this with more important things on his mind, and he's not about to let anything get in his way from completing those tasks." Al's grin widened, "Besides, I think the only ones that could kill brother would be Winry and Major Armstrong. Oh and Lieutenant Hawkeye, but she likes him too much."

"His girlfriend, Winry?" Hermione asked curiously.

Alphonse laughed, "Ed doesn't have a girlfriend. She's just a family friend!"

"That's not what Mustang said," Ron interjected.

Al laughed, "The Colonel likes to pick on brother, if you hadn't noticed."

* * *

"Uncle Darren! Uncle Darren!" Kira called out as she opened the door to her new home. She skipped inside and dropped her bag on the floor with a small thump. "I'm home from school!" she called. The house was oddly empty though; there was no welcoming home, no sound. Cautiously, she moved down the hallway towards the kitchen. "Uncle Darren?" she called again unsure.

"In the kitchen, Kira," came the quiet reply. It wasn't full of its usual welcoming joy.

Still on her guard, Kira pushed the door open to the kitchen. She entered to find six men standing around the kitchen. Surprised she bowed to them, greeting them as she had been taught by her mother, "I didn't know we had guests."

Darren opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off as the five men pulled their wands out and aimed them at the girl. "Uncle Darren?" she called her voice shaky, "What's going on?"

"These men are going to take you to see your Aunt," her Uncle replied, his hand covering his eyes. He couldn't look at the girl.

"Why can't Aunt Mana come home?" she asked innocently, an unreadable emotion in her eyes.

There was a long pause before one of the men moved his wand and said, "You ask too many questions little girl. Stupify!" The girl only twitched slightly before the spell hit her and she fell back, her hands clenched into fists.

* * *

"What the…?" came the muffled moan as golden orbs blinked open. The room was dark, and silent aside from the quiet breathing that let the girl know she was not alone. "Where am I?" she asked quietly.

"Welcome to the Cell of Happiness," the sarcastic reply radiated from the depths of the room speaking the same language. The voice was hoarse, but obviously feminine.

"Aunt Mana? Is that you?" the girl whispered in her native tongue.

There was a rustling of chains in the dark before a reply reached her ears, "I don't have any nieces or nephews."

The girl rolled her eyes slightly, before sitting up and staring at where she thought the voice originated, "Fine then, Lieutenant Mana Giber, if you would prefer. Uncle Roy Mustang sent me to stay with you."

Silence reigned over the cell before a quiet response came back, "Mustang… then you aren't…"

"I just do as he tells me," Kira replied. "Now let's see if I can get us out of here," the girl moved to her feet glad that she wasn't bound. Slightly unsteadily, she moved across the room, her eyes were slowly adjusting to the darkness and she could make out the form of a dirty, blood covered blond woman sitting in the corner of the room. The woman's arms were chained above her head, hands far apart. It looked as if their captures knew how to handle the state alchemist.

With a tiny grin, the young girl squatted in front of her 'Aunt' and clapped her hands together quietly. Without a word she pressed them to the chains. A blue light flashed illuminating the tiny room for a moment before the chains disappeared and a large amount of dirt fell to the ground.

"You…" started the now freed woman. The girl only pressed a finger to her lips to signal for silence. The girl didn't even wait; she just clapped her hands again and pressed them against the wall. A large door formed under her hands, it was plain, nothing overly flashy.

"Up we go," she whispered before leaning down to pick the woman up and support her with a surprisingly strong grip. The girl's free arm pushed the door open and they stepped through only the women's footsteps echoing down the hall. "Do you know how to get out? Or even… where we are?" Kira whispered to the woman.

At the shake of a head no, the younger girl just shrugged and started down the hallway. They would find out eventually. The women seemed to be in luck as they managed to move down several hallways without running into anyone.

It was as they turned down the fourth hallway that their luck ran out, "Hey! What are you-?" came the cry of an angry wizard as the pair rounded the corner.

"Damn!" Kira swore, she clapped her hands together around Mana and pressed on to the wall. Blue light flashed before the wall next to the wizard bulged out and wrapped around the wizard's wand arm.

"What the hell?" came the angry reply as the pair hobbled around the frantic wizard. It seemed that the shout had raised the alarm, however. Witches and wizards came pouring out of closed doors and into the hallway looking for trouble. Becoming more and more frustrated Kira clapped her hands together one more time and pressed them to the wall. A wall sprang from where her hands touched. The two women were trapped. Kira had unintentionally trapped them at the end of a hall with no where to turn.

"Where to now?" was the sarcastic and weary question from the older woman. "Just like Mustang to send someone to rescue me that can't even do it right," she muttered.

"Oh, shut up!" came the angry retort. Without thinking, the girl pressed her hands together and then shoved them against the opposite wall. Once again the wall turned into a door that was shoved open immediately. Sunlight burst through the door and blinded the two women momentarily. Stepping through, Kira turned to look at the woman she supported, "Do you know where we are?"

The woman shook her head and with a sigh, Kira hobbled the two of them towards the street. They were in a city, there were buildings all around them, and cars were zooming by on the streets, but which city? Stopping at the side of the street, the girl held an arm up trying to signal for a taxi. After a few minutes, a taxi stopped and she pulled the door open and helped Mana in gently. Climbing in herself she switched to English and asked, "Where are we?"

"Banbury, miss," the taxi driver replied. "Where can I take you?" he asked politely.

"Mana, do you know any place we can get an owl?" Kira asked prodding the woman slightly.

"I've never even heard of it," came the reply, "but we need to go now."

The only town that Kira knew in England was London, "Take us to London as fast as possible." With a nod the taxi driver turned around and started down the road. Not a moment later a blast was heard and people came pouring out of the building that the women had just left.

* * *

Black hair was a mess entwined in gloved fingers as the man stared at his desk. His charcoal eyes were shut, and he was lost in his thought, despite the three people gathered around him. Taking a deep breath the Colonel lifted his head from his hands, "If we don't hear from him soon, I'll see if I can collect any information on the situation," the man informed the others.

"Colonel," came the quiet almost hollow voice. "Big Brother…," the boy trailed off, he didn't want to ask, he knew he had to be okay, he was the Full Metal Alchemist, but still.

"He'll be fine, Alphonse," the Colonel replied, his eyes showing sympathy. The boy nodded his understanding, doubt clearly still lingering. It was late at night, past curfew for the boy, but he had been too worried about his brother to go to bed. It had been nearly two weeks since Edward had left on his mission. They hadn't received word from the boy in several days and the military was beginning to worry.

A tapping brought the attention of the four foreigners to the window. An owl was tapping on the glass impatiently; it had a small letter attached to its claw. Hawkeye moved to the window quickly and let the harassed owl inside.

"It's from Mana Giber!" she stated handing the letter to the Colonel. The black haired man quickly opened the letter and set it on the desk for all to read.

_Colonel Mustang,_

_The girl you sent to rescue me left me in Banbury. I've taken a news clipping from one of the wizarding papers I was able to get my hands on and sent it with this. I haven't heard from her since she jumped out of the Taxi and told the driver to go. If you need me I'll be making my way back to Central; send the owl for me._

_-Lt. Mana Giber_

Attached was a short news clipping with a photograph of several dark covered wizards sending attacks at a young girl, who spent her time sending off explosions and keeping under cover.

**_Dark Lord Attacks Magical Girl_**

_On November 24th the city of Banbury was disturbed by several explosions and flashes of blue lights. Eyewitnesses report that several Death Eaters were attacking a young girl. The girl, herself, seemed to be using some type of wandless magic that caused blue flashes. It seemed that the girl held her own, for there have been no remains found, but she has not been spotted either._

_Several muggles were injured in the attacks and the Ministry had to send several teams out to take care of the mess. Luckily, no one was killed._

_The Ministry is investigating the attack, but as of now no leads have been uncovered. The girl is still unknown, and the reason for the attack is uncertain._

"Colonel…." came the quiet voice of Alphonse, "where is my brother?"

* * *

**A/N:** Well, lookie! I finished another chapter! It only took me getting extremely upset and saying screw it to homework! Hee hee… sorry I took so long! School and family got in the way. Hopefully I'll keep the updates semi regular again. Review and let me know what you think! Thanks everyone! 


	13. Starting

The buzz of happy students was overshadowed by the somber attitude of the foreign exchanges. While the witches and wizards of Hogwarts could be found laughing and smiling, the military personnel from Armestris were quiet and reserved. Even the Colonel's trademark smirk could not be seen.

Coming out his small daze, Alphonse sighed and looked from where he had been observing the room to the empty spot at the table. His brother was still missing. It had been a week and there had been no word. Only the sound of owls swooping into the room to drop off mail brought the fourth year Gryffindor out of his daze. He watched hopefully as the owls swooped around him, yet there was no mail for him. And there was no mail for Mustang, Hawkeye, or Havoc.

Something caught his golden eye, however, and he turned to the bushy haired girl across from him, "Hermione?" She looked up from where she had been unfolding the paper. "You get a paper?" he asked curiously.

"Of course," she answered him with a questioning gaze.

"Do you think I could see it, please?" Al asked pleadingly.

The girl nodded and handed it to him, "What do you need it for?"

Al unfolded the paper and quickly started to scan it while he answered, "The Colonel got word that Ed completed his mission about a week ago, but we haven't received word from him." He paused to turn the page, "Usually we'll get some type of word, but since we haven't I figure the best way to find him is look in the paper."

Ron and Harry had been listening quietly and Ron turned to Al, "Why would the paper have anything on him?"

Al looked up and grinned, "They usually report property damage, don't they?"

"Yeah, but not usually small damages," Ron informed him with a small frown of confusion.

Al didn't even look up from the paper as he flipped to another page and asked, "Who said it would be small?" The boy gave a sigh of defeat as he folded the paper again and handed it back to Hermione. He looked up at the Colonel in hope that in the last few minutes the man had received some type of word, but the man just shook his head.

Silence fell across the group and Hermione looked at the paper pity in her eyes. Glancing up she started to say, "Al, we'll keep an eye out for any news on-" The girl was cut off by the doors to the Great Hall swinging open.

The doors didn't just swing open, they were pushed open violently and Edward stumbled through. He paused slumping against one of the doors with a small sigh as he surveyed the room. The hall had fallen silent as the school took in the alchemist's appearance. Instead of the usual crisp blue uniform the boy wore black pants and shirt with a red jacket hanging loosely, a black cross and snake design on the back. His hair was messy, dirt streaked down his clothes and skin. There were even traces of dried blood visible on the boy's face and clothes. The alchemist looked weary, but glad to be back.

Before a soul could move, the boy used his last energy to straighten up and move to his brother's side. Silently he dropped into the seat next to his brother and started piling the plate full of food. With a piece of bacon in his mouth he spoke for the first time, "Brother… chopsticks.. please…" The younger Elric just nodded mutely, still stunned. Al quickly drew a transmutation circle and placed a fork inside of it. He gently touched the circle with a finger and light flared. Blinking away the side effects of the light, Al saw that the chopsticks were already in his brother's hands, steadily moving from his mouth to the plate and back again.

"Fullmetal!" boomed the dreaded voice, echoing in the silence of the Great Hall. The alchemist twitched slightly, but did not look up from eating. "You are supposed to report after a mission," the cool voice commanded in its native tongue.

Edward paused long enough to look at the Colonel and respond in English, "I haven't eaten in three days! Besides it's not like you don't already know what happened! You always know! I come back and you sit at your damn desk and tell me exactly what I did!" Glowering, the boy picked up a piece of sausage with his chopsticks.

There was a small snap and the sausage was on fire. Ed dropped the meat with a yelp of surprise and stood to glare at his commanding officer.

There was a gentle tug on the boy's sleeve. Looking down two sets of golden eyes met. "Big brother, we didn't have any idea what happened to you," Al told him quietly in their native tongue, "We've all been worried sick. There was no word, nothing in the papers."

Ed bit back the words he was about to scream at his superior officer and hoped over the bench. He grabbed his plate of food and stood watching as the three military officers approached him. Al stood as well and moved to his brother's side. Coming to a halt in front of the three, the Colonel nodded towards Ed who was still eating away silently. "Al, perhaps you could make us a set of stairs to the kitchen below here?" he asked quietly.

The youngest alchemist nodded and quickly drew a transmutation circle in the middle of the floor. With a flash the ground disappeared and started to form a set of stairs down to the next floor where several house elves cried out in surprise. The group quickly moved down the stairs and Alphonse reformed the floor of the Great Hall closing the foreigners off from view.

The hall erupted in whispers. Everyone wanted to know where Ed had been, why he was yelling at the Colonel, what the fight had been about. People even wanted to know why the boy looked so terrible.

In the uproar no one seemed to notice three heads bent together whispering furiously. "He hadn't eaten in three days!" Harry whispered in shock.

Ron nodded vigorously in agreement before asking, "What does one do that could leave out food for three days?"

With a roll of her eyes, Hermione patiently explained, "Didn't you hear them? Ed said that Professor Mustang _always_ knew what he did on missions. That means he goes on them regularly! It just confirms it! Ed really is in the military!" The two boys looked at her blankly for a moment before the information began to sink in.

"If they're part of the military why are they at Hogwarts? It can't be an exchange program, Ed's a Major, not in school," Harry thought out loud.

Hermione nodded before lowering her voice even more, "We need more information." The boys nodded consent.

The kitchens below were in an uproar worse than the great hall. As soon as Ed's golden eyes landed on the amount of food available, he nearly fell over. The house elves quickly swarmed their visitors asking what they would like to eat, only to be shot at by an annoyed Lieutenant. While in the background Havoc and Mustang were taking bets on which of the two drunken house elves would win the wrestling match taking place in the corner.

The chaos was reined in only when the house elves went back to their normal jobs and Hawkeye pressed the gun against the Colonel's head. Silence over came the group again, as they watched the angry lieutenant in fear. After a few minutes, Roy Mustang cleared his throat and nodded at the two brothers, "Report Fullmetal."

Sighing, the older brother set his plate on the floor and sat down. Quietly he began to tell his story in his native language, "I went as you told me." He shot a glare at the man before spitting out the next sentence, "_As a girl!_" With one last glare he continued, "Met up with Darren, gave him my sob story. He took me into the house and told me that Mana was staying with a friend for a few weeks. Settled me in, told me about magic, and sent me to a public muggle school. Everything was dull and boring for the first two weeks."

The boy paused and took a bite of bacon, his stomach had been growling again. Swallowing he continued, "Came home from school to find six Death Eaters sitting in the kitchen waiting for me. I let them take me, and luckily enough the dropped me in the same cell as Mana. The idiots didn't even bother tying me up, so I just freed Mana, gave her my cover story and set about getting us out of the building."

Mustang interrupted at this point, "We received word from her last week that she made it to London, but you had stayed behind."

"If I hadn't of jumped out of the damn taxi, they death eaters would have followed us all the way to London," Ed explained annoyance clear in his voice. "I fought them for a while, and then managed to get away. Though, they are extremely annoying. Every time I tried to take a taxi to London, the bastards found me and attacked! I've spent that last few days walking here! And let me tell you, there is nothing between there and here but trees!"

The teen slumped again, picking his chopsticks up to continue his meal. He was interrupted by his brother's warning, "Brother, if you eat too much you'll get sick." The alchemist shook his head and continued to eat.

"What did you find out about the Lord Voldemort?" Mustang questioned after a minute.

The matter was serious now. With a small sigh, Ed set his chopsticks down and straightened up. "Colonel, he wants alchemists. Why else would he have kidnapped Mana? He wants our knowledge wants to use it against Harry and Dumbledore." He glanced up at the man, golden eyes meeting coal black ones, "Our teaching any willing student is endangering the school more than I like to even think about. Which student is a follower of Voldemort? Which student will have the information tortured out of him?" He stood slowly, trying to bring himself to eye level with the officer in front of him, "They don't have military training. They haven't been prepared for war. They don't know how to keep information secret."

The room was silent, even the house elves had stilled noticing the serious tone of the foreign voices.

* * *

**A/N:** There… got what I needed done for this chapter. Shorter than usual, but hey. Sorry I'm being so slow on updates, I'm desperately trying not to fail my chemistry class and just struggling with this whole thing called life. :P Hope y'all enjoyed! Review and let me know what you thought! 


	14. Red Symbols

Several days after the blond alchemist's unexpected return the castle was once again thrown into chaos. A proclamation was found in the Daily Prophet and fliers were sent to every person even remotely related to Amestris or magic.

**Attention!**

All people of Amestris are to return home immediately. Orders have been issued to all state alchemists and military personnel in the area. If issues arise report to the nearest military person for assistance. Effective immediately.

The five foreigners endured questions for several days after the arrival of the notice. As was usual for the foreigners, just as things started to calm a brown owl arrived carrying official military letters for each of them. The blond alchemist received his orders at breakfast, which caused quite the uproar. The students around him all wished to know what was in the letter and why he was receiving one.

A small voice piped up next to the blond boy and asked the hardest question of all, "I thought that you would have to leave Ed." Neville paused before continuing, "I definitely didn't think that Al was in the military."

A frown stretched across the alchemist's brow before he answered with a small grin, "I'm part of the military, so I definitely get to stay. And Al gets to stay because King Bradley took a liking to us. He pretty much lets us do what we wish." What he said was partly true and he allowed a smug smirk to fall across his face, while forcing the worry and annoyance that someone had caught him before he stuffed Al's letter into his pocket for later.

"Fullmetal," the foreign words interrupted behind the blond.

The boy didn't move, he just picked up a piece of sausage with his chop sticks and asked, "What do you want Colonel Bastard?"

A crisp white sheet of paper dropped in front of the boy's eyes. Intelligent golden eyes quickly scanned the paper, reading it. "You got the Furher to sign this?" the boy asked turning to look at the Colonel with wide eyes.

"Everyone deserves a rest now and then, even if they are a shrimp," the man said patiently as he refolded the paper. Before the teen could even open his mouth to retort the Colonel continued, "Actually, I think the only reason this was signed was because the Furher heard about this thing called Christmas and he's expecting Christmas presents from us now."

Both foreigners rolled their eyes as Ed turned back to his breakfast muttering to himself, "Figures! Every single person in the military is a cheap skate!" Taking a bite of his sausage, Ed heard the Colonel's chuckle as he walked back to the teacher's table.

It was only a few seconds before he was bombarded with questions, "What was on the paper, Ed?"

Wincing slightly at the pounding headache the questions were giving him, Ed answered, "The Colonel managed to get the Furher to sign my Hogsmeade permission slip."

There were a few cheers and a few looks of confusion before the bushy haired Hermione spoke up from the edge of the group, "But I thought you didn't have a guardian, Ed." It looked as if the infamous golden trio had been listening.

A frown formed on Edward's face as he attacked his sausage aggressively, "I don't."

A small flash of pain moved across green eyes as Harry spoke up, "Dumbledore won't accept a permission slip unless it's from your guardian."

The alchemist poked his food with his chopsticks for a moment before answering, "I think the King of Amestris has more say on what I can and can not do than anyone else ever will." The teen ignored the stunned and doubtful looks that people sent him as he stood up, "Time to find Al and get some sparring in."

Without a blink, Ed turned and moved away from the table, the tails of his uniform flapping behind him as he walked. "Can we watch?" stopped the boy for a moment before he nodded and continued on his way, Harry, Hermione, and Ron following him as he moved.

The blond needed to clear his head and sparring was the only way he could think of accomplishing the task at the moment. It might have been chilly outside, colder than the boy was used to, but it wouldn't matter once their blood started to boil. Besides it wasn't as if Al could feel the cold, and the fields were still clear, perfect for practice.

The journey was short, before the alchemist found what he was looking for. A group of students had gathered around a familiar blond boy. Jeers and taunts were being shouted at the boy, while a few threats were dangled in the crisp cool air.

Edward went rigid, recognizing the ever present threat to his brother. Voice deadly quiet, he called, "Al! Let's go." The group surrounding the younger boy froze, not expecting the older brother to arrive. Taking the pause to his advantage, Alphonse navigated his way out of the circle to his brother's side. Just once glance showed that his brother was fighting with all of his might to keep the anger in check.

The boys started to walk away, but paused when a cool voice spoke up behind them, "Afraid of a fight, shrimp?"

Much to the surprise of the witches and wizards watching, Edward continued to walk without a pause. Snickering broke out behind the two foreigners as Malfoy commented, "He's just scared of me."

All anyone saw was a blur as Ed turned and launched himself at the boy. His metal fist slammed into the boy's cheek. The Slytherin stumbled and was flug backwards by the force of the punch as Ed rose from a crouch. "You're just a skinny daddy's boy with a toy stick," Ed told him, voice dripping with ice as he gave the boy a small piece of advice, "Don't pick fights with a dog of the military. We're trained to kill."

"Brother!" came a sharp reprimand in the teen's native language.

"No!" Ed yelled back, his voice emotionless to all but his brother's ears, "He relies on his Daddy to survive. He needs to learn to walk on his own. He has two legs." Golden eyes were narrowed into slits as he glared at the cowering blond. Without a sound Ed spun and started to stalk towards the lake. The boy only paused momentarily to call back to Harry, "If you want those lessons. Then, tonight."

* * *

Black hair as messy as always, Harry led the two brother's into the room quietly. Nearly twenty students stood casually inside the well padded practice room. It looked like the stereotypical dojo, or at least what the students thought was a dojo. Golden eyes surveyed the room suspiciously. "And we just happened to find a practice room in the middle of the school that no one knows about?" Ed asked sarcastically.

"It's the Room of Requirement, it changes with the users needs. It is also well hidden and not well known," Harry explained cautiously sensing the mood the other teen was in. Everyone had heard of Ed's bad mood, but no one seemed to understand why he was like that.

Ed snapped back a reply that made some of the younger students back away from him, "Fine! We're changing it!" Stubbornly the boy willed for the room to change and to his surprise it did. The padded room slowly morphed into a bare wooden room with nothing but dust and two barrels of water. The students looked around and at their make-shift teacher in confusion.

"Uh…. Mate…." Ron started, "I don't think it worked." The boy was expressing the confusion of the witches and wizards watching.

"Worked perfectly," was the short reply.

Unsure and on edge one of the Ravenclaw boys that the foreigners did not recognize called out, "Why is he here?" The question was meant for Harry but Ed cut the black haired teen off from answering.

A fist slammed into the wall beside the boy's head. The Ravenclaw hadn't even seen the foreigner approach and he jumped at the sound of wood snapping. The hand was withdrawn from the wall quickly and a large hole was revealed. "I'm here to teach you how to survive when your wand snaps and you're living in the middle of a battle field," the blond snarled. He wasn't being nice, but their teacher hadn't been that nice to them either. At least he wasn't dumping them on an island for a month without any magic.

With an apologetic smile, Ed extended a hand. The Ravenclaw took it nervously. Instead of the warm smile and hello, the younger boy found himself flying through the air over the foreigner's shoulder. With a loud thud the boy landed on his back. Murmurs of concern and malcontent ran through the crowd as they watched. Amazingly even the Weasley twins had fallen into silent shock. If anyone had thought that being taught by Ed was going to be easy, they were slowly coming to realize the truth.

After several pregnant moment so stillness, Hermione ran to the boy's side and helped him to a sitting position. "Ed! Why did you do that?" she asked sharply. "You could have hurt him!" was the quick reprimand.

"The more you hurt, the more you learn," was the emotionless response.

There was an extremely long pause before someone gathered the courage to ask, "Why did you get rid of the padding?"

With a small sigh of irritation Ed answered, "Is there padding in a fight?"

The group was quickly divided into pairs and using Al, Ed demonstrated the proper way to fall and block a simple punch. Training passed by quickly, with many grunts and curses. By the end, however, Ed had worn everyone out, but they had all learned something new. The group was covered in sweat and smelly with bruises littering their skin, but Ed and Al hoped they would have at least a small chance of better surviving an attack.

It wasn't until Al peeled his shirt off and poured the remaining water over his head that anything unusual happened. As usual, the girls found themselves staring at the handsome foreign body. Several of them were even wondering why they couldn't find boys like that in England. Only when something caught Ginny's eye did any of the girls say something. "Hey Al," she called, "Ed let you get a tattoo?"

Those words placed an invisible strain in the room. Edward froze and slowly turned around to look at his brother at the words. "Tattoo?" he asked, an unreadable expression on his face. The boy's golden eyes landed on the ragged blood red symbol between his brother's shoulder blades. "Alphonse Elric!" he whispered harshly with a sharp intake of breath.

"Brother…" was the meek reply. The boy turned around slowly took look at his brother, as the students in the room fell still to watch the exchange in confusion. No one seemed to understand what was going on. There was nothing wrong with a tattoo, right?

"You could have died! You still could!" Ed shouted, all color fading from his face.

Al's golden eyes dropped to the floor before he answered, unwilling to look his brother in the eye, "They knew what they were doing… it's not as if I grabbed a random person off the street!"

Ed snapped, "Just like we were experienced? Sure we knew alchemy, we knew the components, but that didn't help us at all did it? We still _failed_! You risked your life!" Edward stared at his brother, golden eyes unreadable while his brother paled under his gaze. Neither brother realized that they were being watched.

After taking a deep breath and gathering his courage, Al answered, "But nothing went wrong."

The alchemist lost all control at those words and he punched his brother, sending the younger boy flying into the wall. "One scratch and you'll be dead!" the state alchemist shouted in his native tongue. Golden eyes widened and looked at the shorter brother unmoving. A gloved hand reached out and pulled the younger brother to his feet. "Come on, you're going home," Ed said softly.

The room was silent as the two moved towards the door. Letting the guilt get the better of her Ginny stepped forward, "It's only a tattoo, Ed! No need to send him home!"

With a dull, sad, and resigned voice Ed answered her, "You don't understand."

The two boys continued to moved to the exit. There was no sound, except as the door opened and Alphonse spoke quietly, "Sorry, brother."

"Just don't do it again," came the quiet response.

The watching wizards could almost see Alphonse's smile as he commented, "You know, usual it's me yelling at you for doing something stupid."

With a small uneasy laugh, Ed asked, "When do I ever do anything stupid?"

"Well.. there was that one time with Russel and Fletcher-" Alphonse's response was cut off by the slamming off the door.

* * *

**A/N:** Well, sorry that took a bit of time. I've had it written in my notebook for over a week, just it wasn't flowing right. I had Ed going from happy happy joy joy to 'I'll kill you if you blink!' with no explanation… Hopefully I've fixed that problem at least a tiny bit. And this time Al doesn't randomly disappear:P

Anyway, hope y'all enjoy! I may or may not have another chapter posted by the end of the week. If I don't have one up by Sunday night, don't expect one for over a week. I'm going to Costa Rica for ten days with my old biology teacher and other kids (though oddly enough not with our school). Review and let me know what you think! bounces I love my reviewers and hope to have a chapter up before I leave!


	15. Detention

"We regret to inform everyone that Mr. Alphonse Elric will be returning home after breakfast. Some issues have come up at home that require him," Dumbledore informed the sleepy and hungry students. Many of them let out small sighs of displeasure, while others snickered happily. Yet, whispers broke out when eyes landed on the boy in question, for some reason he was wearing armor. They knew that Amestris was dangerous, but no one had expected him to need to wear armor!

Harry couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. A tattoo had sent Alphonse home? He knew he should have been paying attention during Defense Against the Dark Arts, but it wasn't as if the class actually taught him anything. The memory of the announcement kept playing over in his head. What had upset Ed so much? Why did one tattoo give reason for the elder brother to punch him?

With a small shake of his head he looked up just in time to see Edward calming standing up to Professor Umbridge. "Mr. Elric, would you mind explaining to the class why you are not reading the section on chimeras?" the Professor asked nastily.

With a small smile Edward stood up and nodded, "I would be glad to explain." He paused for a moment before looking the woman in the eye, "I see no point in reading about how to defeat something when we are never going to get the background experience to try out what we have read."

"How little you know," Umbridge stated, "reading on defense techniques will inform you of how to defeat the beast. This way you do not go into a fight without any knowledge."

Edward shook his head, his expression grim, "Well, from my scanning of the chapter, this information won't help even if you don't freeze up and remember what it says."

"Oh, so you're an expert on chimeras now?" Umbridge asked, her eyes gleaming wickedly.

Edward shook his head, "One of my teachers at home was an expert on chimeras. The Sewing Life Alchemist, before he went insane and was killed." With a deep breath the alchemist continued, "I was ordered to go through his research and organize his things. And since then I have fought my fair share of chimeras."

A frown creased the woman's brow and she snapped, "Believe it or not Mr. Elric, you do not know everything there is to know. Detention this Saturday!" With a disappointed sigh, the Professor motioned to the door, "Class is dismissed. I expect a one foot parchment on chimeras' next class."

With several groans and moans the class stood up, gathering their books as they moved. Harry stood slowly watching Edward. He didn't know if he should really be feeling as happy that it was someone else instead of himself in detention, or if he should feel bad for the alchemist. Either way, he wanted to give the teen a pat on the back for standing up to the toad woman, as he had fondly nicknamed her. With a shrug of his shoulders he followed Hermione out of the room all too happy to escape.

* * *

"Hey bastard!" Edward called out in his native tongue while he ran to catch up to his Colonel.

The man turned around and stopped, waiting for the shorter alchemist to catch up. At his side, Mustang's companion turned as well. The shorter alchemist nearly fell over at the sight of Mustang and Snape together with identical grins on their faces. The two people he hated to see together had to be best friends and standing together.

"FullMetal?" Mustang asked when the teen stopped dead in his tracks.

Blinking golden orbs the boy recovered and answered, "I need a new sparring partner now that Al's gone." It wasn't a question; it was more of a command.

"Spar with Havoc," Mustang replied lazily, "It's too early in the morning for me."

A smirk identical to Mustang's appeared on Edward's face as he responded, "Havoc's too easy. Besides, if you don't I'll tell Hawkeye. Or I could just show her Mustang's ten step plan to get his Lieutenant to fall in love with him."

The smirk fell from the Colonel's face for a moment and his fingers itched to snap, but he recovered his composure after a moment and nodded. "We're doing a cultural show to explain about Amestris and in it I'll be introducing alchemic uses to the school. Care for a rematch?"

"As long as we don't have to clean it up again," Ed responded with a malicious grin.

The Colonel nodded and started to walk down the hall again. The man paused for a moment before calling over his shoulder, "Better hurry or you'll be late for detention."

There was a flurry of curses that would have made a sailor blush as the teen turned and started sprinting, ignoring Snape's deduction of points for swearing. Soft chuckling broke out between the two professors as they watched the boy retreat.

"Take the quill and start writing. I want 'I do not know everything.' Written one thousand times," Umbridge ordered in a toad like voice as the teen walked through the door.

Edward shrugged and slid into an empty chair. He gingerly picked up the quill and smiled at the paper in front of him. His teacher had been much worse, and he was used to writing and reading a lot. After all, Mustang did make him write mission reports. This was hardly any worse. Still smiling the boy placed the quill on the paper and began to write.

_I do not know everything._

A loud screeching of metal on metal was heard as Edward wrote. He paused puzzled and looked at the paper.

"What was that?" Umbridge asked angrily as she slowly uncovered her ears. Ed shrugged and started to write again.

_I do not know everything._

_I do not know everything._

_I do not know everything._

The minute the quill had started to move the unearthly sound started up again. "What is that noise?" the Professor asked starting from her seat as she searched for the source. The alchemist ignored her and continued to write.

_I do not know everything._

_I do not know everything._

_I do not know everything._

_I do not know everything._

_I do not know everything._

"Take off your gloves," the woman ordered Edward realizing that the sound was coming from the quill.

The quill was placed gently on the paper and golden eyes raised slowly to meet the Professor's head on, "Not without the Colonel's permission."

The woman did not respond, she had come to know the boy too well. No matter what she said he would stick to his words. With a frown creasing her brow she moved away from the boy and took some powder from above the fireplace. Without pausing she tossed it into the fire and then stuck her head into the flames.

Edward sat watching, confusion written clearly on his face. Even a small bit of hope glimmered in his eyes that the woman would burn, but he kept it mostly hidden. Much to the alchemist's disappointment Umbridge stood up straight, her face completely devoid of burn marks. "He'll be up in a minute," she informed the student.

The minute passed by slowly, with a silent glaring contest between the occupants of the room. It was only interrupted by a light tapping of gloved fingers on the door. "Edward is giving you trouble?" came the calm voice of Colonel Mustang as he moved into the room.

"He refuses to remove his gloves without your permission," Umbridge explained, the anger clear in her voice.

Black eyes met gold ones briefly and the black flashed annoyance. Turning his attention back to the smaller professor he said, "Good. He is following his orders then." There was a slight pause before Mustang nodded, "Remove them, Ed. There's no use in keeping it hidden any longer." At the nod, Edward gently slipped his glove off of his hand, revealing cold metal fingers and a scratched engraving of 'I do not know everything.' on the back of his hand. The smaller alchemist let out a cry of anger at the sight.

"You!" he shouted, pointing accusing metal fingers at the shocked Professor. "Winry is going to kill me for this! And it's not like I have enough money to keep paying her to fix my automail!" Edward fumed at the woman, face full of anger. He could just see the wrench flying at his head over and over again.

Mustang, however, placed a hand on the boy's shoulder to calm him. "That punishment is out of line," he stated coolly, while gently shoving the smaller alchemist toward the door. "If you ever do that again the King shall hear of it," he informed her before turning to the door eyes smoldering and fingers itching to snap. As Edward stepped out of the room, Mustang stopped and turned back, "If you ever touch my student again I will not be able to control myself or any of my subordinates!" Without another word the two foreigners exited the room leaving a stunned Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor staring at the door in horror.

"Have Hawkeye take a look at that, she may have something usable from her guns," Mustang ordered as the pair started for his classroom and temporary headquarters. "And next time, midget," he stated, "don't get yourself into that kind of situation."

"I'M NOT A MIDGET!" was the angry reply.

**A/N: **Sorry this took so long! I had an amazing time in Costa Rica, though I almost died twice (literally) and then the story would have been finished no matter what anyone thought:P Well, I hope y'all enjoyed and sorry it's short. But I want the next part to be a separate chapter so I had to cut it off here.

And I've edited the mistakes out of my previous chapters. If anyone finds I've missed on let me know! Maybe now I won't get yelled at for silly things I do when I'm half asleep. . Sorry.. meant to have this up last night but silly would not let me upload documents! Silly thing! Well here it is! .


	16. Demonstrations

"Attention!" Dumbledore's voice called out over the low rumble of students chatting, spoons clanking against bowls, and the frantic scratching of quills against parchment as students desperately attempted to finish their homework. "All classes have been canceled today," the headmaster informed the students. His words were greeted with a roar of appreciation from the students. "Instead, after breakfast everyone will report to the Quidditch pitch for a demonstration!"

Excited murmurs broke out from the student body before the next words left the man's lips, "We shall be educated on life in Amestris."

Nearly an hour later a cool breeze blew gently across the quidditch pitch as excited students chatted idly in the stands. No one seemed to notice the four military personnel that stepped onto the field quietly. They each shivered slightly as they adjusted to the cool temperature. Home was much warmer, especially for Edward who spent much time in the desert and on the move.

"Life in Amestris," Mustang's voice eminated over the hundred of students, "is extremely different from life in England." The crowd fell silent as he spoke, his booted feet slowly carrying him to the center of the field. He was dressed differently than usual. He wore his standard blue uniform pants, but had a loose white tee-shirt on, with his gloves pulled snuggly around his hands. Many of the girls sighed in appreciation; he looked much better this way. "The Ishbalan Massacre is still taking its toll on the country and we are not at peace. Imposters run amok, corruption springs from sand, and one must trust only one's closest friends," he continued his voice commanding attention.

A nod from the black haired man and Edward stepped into view. Gasps broke out over the crowd. The teen wore his normal black leather pants and boots with a black tank top revealing a metal arm. People were starting to point and murmur, but they were cut off by Mustang's words, "At a young age we learn to fight and protect ourselves. If one wants something one has to take initiative and go after it."

Sure that every eye was glued to him, Mustang continued, "One way of protection is hand to hand combat, another is alchemy. The most effective, however, is a combination of the two."

"In hand to hand combat, Edward has the advantage," Mustang explained. The alchemists exchanged a look before they lunged at each other in unison. Edward rolled under the fist aimed for his stomach and grabbed the black-haired man's ankle as he came out of the roll into a squat. Using his metal arm he flipped the man over his hip as he stood and kicked out with the opposite leg, sending the older alchemist flying across the pitch.

A happy smirk on his face, Edward bowed to the audience not even bothering to check if his commander was injured. The audience looked torn between staring in awe and being worried for the Colonel's health. Slowly the Slytherins and many males started to applaud, while the female's watched the professor worried for the heartthrob. Much to their relief the man stood up and moved back to his subordinate's side. "Don't worry, Edward controlled his actions. He's leaving it till later. Now in alchemic battles, I am superior," Mustang informed the crowd.

"Says WHO?" was the indignant response.

The protest was cut off quickly by a small snap and a burst of fire. The audience roared in surprise as the teen rolled away from the fire and slapped his hands together, then against the ground. A wall flew up between the two alchemists and Edward quickly set to work while he was safe.

With a small smirk and roll of his eyes, Mustang lit the wall on fire, while moving around it intent on surprising his subordinate. Much to his surprise, the teen was standing on top of a pile of stones. One movement and he would send the stones tumbling at the Colonel.

"Nicely done, Fullmetal," Mustang complimented in his native tongue, "but you seem to have forgotten about your last stone structure." With a quiet snap the rocks exploded from the inside, while Edward leaped back avoiding dancing trails of fire.

A loud bullet was fired into the air, and the two alchemists froze looking at the annoyed Lieutenant. "This is a demonstration, not a battle to the death!" they were scolded by the blond woman.

Two meek heads nodded before regaining composure. "Now to demonstrate what we would consider a normal battle," Roy called to the audience, "In this we are rather evenly matched."

Before the match could start, or Edward could even voice his objection to the man's comment, barking interrupted. A young black and white pup bound on to the pitch followed by a short black-haired man in a blue uniform. Much to the amusement of the students watching the put came to a halt in front of the female Lieutenant. The dog sat down happily, tail wagging as he waited for his owner's acknowledgement.

"Black Hayate, Feury. Off the field. We're about to see a rematch," the woman ordered the two, a bit of a smile on her lips. A grin spread across the man's face as the three moved to stand next to Havoc, as far from the two alchemists as possible.

"Do we have bets going, yet?" the smaller man asked happily. "I want to put my money on Ed. He's got a lot of pent up anger." The words nearly died as they fell from his mouth, he could see his Colonel staring at him, an evil glint in the man's eyes.

Two annoyed voices sounded as they spoke to the crowd. The first was Edward, "As soon as they're done we'll continue."

The second voice belonged to Roy as he explained. One of the big games in Amestris, just happens to be betting. As my command has just demonstrated."

Undaunted by the two alchemist's conversation, Hawkeye continued, "My money is on Mustang, but only just barely."

Havoc on the other hand just shook his head, "The Colonel will take him easily." The three officers ignored the fuming alchemists in favor of pooling their money. A collection of gold and silver coins was handed to Feury as he quickly did the math in his head.

Turning away from his stubborn subordinates Mustang addressed the audience again, "And now, if the men will allow us, we shall demonstrate one of the more common ways of battling." Sending one last glare, silently warning his men to finish up quickly, he turned to face Edward. The military officers quickly nodded that they had finished taking their bets and signaled for the match to start.

At the sign the two alchemists eyed each other warily. "Aww… no one's cursing you for stealing their girl or rising too quickly," Ed mocked, the Colonel's smirk dropping into place on his face.

Keeping his face blank the Colonel responded, "Afraid we can't say the same for you, Edward. You're still a midget, even in the eyes of the first years." The teenager turned red with fury and lunged at his commanding officer.

The crowd let out a gasp as flame was shot at the younger alchemist. The teen rolled out of the way quickly and slammed his hands together before touching the ground. A wave of sand shot up from the ground and doused the Colonel as he moved to snap again. Using the temporary pause to his advantage, the teen clapped again and pulled a spear out of the ground. Gold, white, and extremely intricate the teen spun it in his hand, testing the feel of the spear. Watching the Colonel closely he thrust forward with the weapon. The older alchemist dodged to the side and set a jet of flames at the teen. Instead of attempting to duck, the blond held his right arm up in front of the flames. He winced slightly as the metal heated, but the flames did not touch his skin.

Moving forward again, he spun the spear until it was swinging directly at the Colonel's feet. The beautiful gold and white weapon was quickly snatched from his hands by a happy and overly playful pup. The Colonel was not hit.

"What the hell?" Ed shouted looking at the extremely hyper dog. Confused both alchemists stared at the dog before the teen cursed and started chasing it. "Give that back you good for nothing flee-bag!"

Choas erupted on the field. Mustang stood watching, with a small camera being pulled out of his pocket. Hughes had taught him some things; pictures were sometimes worth a million dollars. Off to the side Havoc hollered for the irate teen to make dog stew for dinner. Feury was crying with terror at the Second Lieutenant's suggestion, while Hawkeye calmly took aim with her trusty pistol.

The chaos stopped at the sound of a bullet being fired. The dog dropped his prize and ran back to his master meekly, while Ed glared and picked his weapon up protectively. Using the distraction, Mustang quickly hid the camera out of sight.

Sighing in defeat the Colonel motioned for Edward to come forward, "Since it seems we're never destined for an actual battle, why don't you tell everyone about normal life in Amestris?"

One golden eye rose curiously as the teen calmly asked, "Since when have I had a normal life?"

Annoyed with the lack of cooperation he was getting from his subordinates he corrected himself, "Then explain a normal military life."

The blond looked at his commander skeptically again, but started speaking, "A normal military life in our unit involves midnight ghost investigations, more concern over the Colonel's private life than kidnappings…"

The teen was interrupted by Havoc shouting, "We said we were sorry! Besides how were we supposed to know it was you? It's not like you would have believed him either! You know how much of a ladies man he is!" Quiet sniggering followed the comment, while the Colonel shot glares at his Second Lieutenant.

Continuing undaunted Ed spoke, "Much yelling, screaming, shooting and hidden agendas." Smirking lightly, the blond looked over at Havoc innocently, "And of course girlfriend stealing." Pausing he looked at the students watching him intently, "That is outside of our duties of course, but truly it's not that different than here."

"The only differences," Hawkeye finished for the boy, stepping on to the pitch once again, "are in our cultures. Instead of wizards, we have alchemists who do not need to hide. Instead of silverware, we have chopsticks. We are also further behind technology wise from what I have seen. We have no televisions, merely radios."

"Life is calmer at home than here. School is not truly required and many citizens will just grow up to take over the family business or farm," Havoc explained stepping forward.

Unsure of what else to explain the military personnel exchanged glances before Mustang spoke up again, "Are there any questions?"

"Are tattoos forbidden in Amestris? Is that why Alphonse went home?" Ginny piped up bravely, ignoring the silence that had fallen over the quidditch pitch.

All eyes turned to stare at the girl and she flushed furiously. The golden eyes, however, were the strongest. "That is not why I sent my brother home," Edward answered coldly. "He was sent home to alleviate the danger that your dark lord has put on us. He, also, had training that Izumi wished to continue with him," the blond lied easily. He had run around telling people that Roy Mustang was his father, this was easy.

"If it's so dangerous here, isn't it even more dangerous in your country? He left wearing armor!" another brave soul asked.

Edward was starting to lose his control. "He wears armor as a hobby," the teen stated quietly. "Home is a mess, but he is safe enough with teacher and our family."

There was a small pause before someone asked the question that everyone feared to ask, "Why is your arm covered in metal?"

The metal arm tightened, a fist forming as golden eyes narrowed. "That is my arm," the alchemist growled out slowly. "It was lost in the Ishbalan Massacre. My mechanic, Winry, replaced my limbs with automail and has since taken care of them." Murmurs broke through the crowd and faces looked down at him with pity. Edward shook his head and turned to glarer at Mustang.

"I think that is enough for today," the Colonel said cutting off the next question. "If you have further questions we will answer them during free periods." Heels snapped together, the military personnel saluted crisply and moved to huddle around Master Sergeant Fuery.

The man held out an order from the Feurher and shrugged in confusion, "I've orders to stay here, but I have no idea why."

Mustang opened the orders and read them quickly. "Interesting," he murmured, "interesting."

* * *

**A/N:** Wow.. sorry that took so long. I've had it written for a while, but really just didn't like it. In fact I was thinking about scrapping it entirely. I made OblivionDragon read it, however, and she liked it so I decided to leave it.

Now on to questions, I nearly died twice… once was a lovely collision on the zip lines in the middle of the rainforest. Four person collision, and a collision with a tree atleast a hundred feet off the ground. Second was those lovely things called rip tides… Never been so scared. I truly didn't think I was going to make it back to shore.

Next I'm going to attempt to answer questions about the story that have come up.. if I remember them all. The red symbol on Al's back that was his blood seal. I never specified but did give a few hints that can be picked out. Erm… no that was not Envy, I don't believe I'll be bringing Envy into this story. But I could be wrong. Ed may or may not be left-handed. I have no idea! And that's all I remember for questions… I'm going to post now before someone kills me!


	17. Dark Nights

Golden eyes stared out the frosted glass confused and deep in thought. In the dark night small white flakes swirled in a long fall to the frozen earth. It confused the teen watching. How could two places be so different and yet still have the same cold wet snow that fell from the sky? How could one world revolve around science, while miles away another revolved around magic? And yet the same snow fell in both places. He had been too busy to puzzle out the oddities of this world, but now busy or not he had to.

The alchemist shook his head in an attempt to clear it. He truly didn't want to dredge up old memories of his first animal transfiguration. He still didn't understand it. Dragging his gaze away from the window he observed his sleeping dorm mates. Each one seemed so peaceful. Occasionally they twitched or whimpered as their dreams turned to spiders or potions masters. Still they were innocent. They were innocent in the way that Edward had not been since his mother died.

They were innocent, that is until the alchemist's eyes landed on his black haired, green eyed roommate. Green eyes that stared back, studying the alchemist in the same way Edward had studied him. Harry Potter. Yes, he knew the name. He had spent hours in the library researching the name as soon as it slipped from Mustang's tongue. Harry Potter. The Boy-Who-Lived. The boy who defeated You-Know-Who. The stupid brits, the alchemist had had to search for hours before he came across a book that actually used the dark lord's name, even if only once.

The green eyed teen was the first to break the silence, "You look as if you've never seen snow before."

Golden eyes flickered to the window and back to Harry before he answered softly, "We've had our share of snow." The blond teen paused, a small smile flickering across his face, "Snow… snow trapped us in a house and forced me to deliver a baby."

"Whose?" was the truly curious question.

The answer was quiet, the alchemist lost in his thoughts, "Brigadier General Maes Hughes."

Green eyes blinked in genuine surprise, "You're that close to higher ranking…?"

A small bitter laugh left the teen's mouth, "No, Hughes was a Lieutenant Colonel at the time. He was promoted after death."

"But everyone says you're close to the," the teen paused trying to remember the title, "Fuhrer? King? Whatever he is." The teen didn't notice the grief residing on the alchemist's features.

"He took a liking to me and Al, but by no means are we close. He's just strange. In fact, I think he's off his rocker most of the time," Edward answered with a laugh, brushing sadness away.

A peaceful if question filled silence fell across the room, only occasionally interrupted by Dean's snores. Harry had questions he wanted to ask, but didn't know how to ask them. He could only watch and pray that if he did ask it wouldn't push the other teen into further silence.

For some reason, Edward felt secure, felt he could express some of his concerns. "I'll be leaving on another training mission soon," he murmured almost to himself. The black haired teen remained silent waiting to see if his roommate would expand on his own. "I'm supposed to find Remus Lupin and bring him in."

Harry sat straight up in his bed, green eyes piercing into golden ones. The teen lost all ability to think straight at his roommate's words. He didn't know until it was too late when he blurted out, "Major Edward Elric, you had better stay away from that man if you wish to remain a secret."

* * *

There was a soft tapping on Severus's door, and he grumbled as he pulled a robe on over his pajamas. Slowly, to wake himself up, he moved to the door and opened it. Instead of Filch or one of his colleagues coming to wake him about a Slytherin out causing problems, his cold gaze landed on an extremely disheveled Lieutenant. He took a step back in surprise, his stone like mask dropping to show confusion for a moment, "Miss Hawkeye?" 

Riza Hawkeye smiled slightly. A motion from the man in front of her and she stepped into his suite. It was dark, and it looked as if the man had been asleep. Feeling slightly guilty she murmured an apology, "Riza, please. And forgive me for disturbing you; I hope I didn't wake you."

Severus shook his head, "It's fine." He paused for a moment, clearly still in need of sleep, "Did you need something?"

Brown eyes dropped to the ground and the woman answered slowly, "I was wondering if I could stay with you for a few days?" At the man's sharp look she started to explain, "Colonel Mustang is," she paused unsure of the correct wording, "as Edward would put it, he's being a bastard."

Smirking slightly, Severus nodded and led the woman further into his suite, "You may take the bed, and I'll sleep on the couch. In the morning I expect a more in depth explanation if you are to stay a few nights."

* * *

**A/N:** Erm.. don't kill me for taking so long or for being so short… please…..? I've had the worst writter's block and been extremely busy. Anime Boston was a few weeks ago and it was great until I ended up having a panic attack and getting into a huge fight with my friends at 2 in the morning. I also just graduated from high school. W007! No more hell hole! 

Now for some questions that popped up. Ed finally let people know about his automail because Umbridge already found out about it and in revenge the woman would have spread the news about it anyway. Thus better to show it off. Al was sent home because Ed believed he took a risk (the transfiguration) that he shouldn't have and did not want him taking anymore risks like that. The body he had been changed into was not a true body, he still had the blood rune and one scratch on it could have killed him. This new body made him more vulnerable. Next question… no this will not be Roy/Ed. If anything this will be Roy/Riza.

Oh! And if you want a picture of your lovely authoress cosplaying Riza Hawkeye come and look here… or don't… because I can no longer find a link to my picture… Just poke me and I'll dig a picture up out of my friend's pictures once I find the site again… Hee hee… sorry!

Oh and lastly, I'm debating starting a Harry Potter Gundam Wing crossover. It's got bits and pieces written in my notebook already. So keep an eye out for that and feel free to shout ideas to me. Of course don't worry, this story will still be my top prioreity!


	18. Confusion

Cold laughter echoed through the calm dorm room. Golden eyes wide with laughter, the alchemist asked coolly, "You think you can threaten me with my title?" The alchemist fell silent for a moment letting his words sink in. Harry opened his mouth to retort, but Edward beat him to it, "If you plan on that you may want the entire thing. Major Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist. The youngest state alchemist ever and known as the alchemist for the people."

Harry's jaw dropped. He had known that the Colonel and his people had been lying about something, but he did not think it went this deep. He truly didn't know what to say.

"Now if you truly want me to leave this man alone, you'll give me a better reason to go against orders," Edward explained slowly. "And you may want to make it good because I do not take kindly to being threatened," he added as an after thought.

Letting the anger that had clouded his mind dissipate, Harry tried to explain, "Remus, is one of the few links to my parents I have left. He grew up with my dad and… he tries to help me out as much as he can." The teen let the words tumble out slowly.

Shaking his head, Edward answered him, "No one said that my bringing him in was a bad thing." Without another word, the alchemist fell back against his bed and rolled over, his back facing the confused teenager.

* * *

"The password to my rooms is Confundus. And do not worry, I will not say anything to Roy," Severus explained to his new found roommate. The blonde woman nodded thankfully before disappearing out the portrait hole. She had work and he had classes he had to get ready for. Actually, he had Roy to look forward to meeting. He couldn't wait until he saw the look on his friend's face.

Outside Riza quickly made her way to the Great Hall. She looked as proper as ever, her uniform without wrinkles, her hair pulled back tightly, and her boots clicking in perfect rhythm on the stone floor. Nothing was given away in her warm brown eyes as she surveyed the students around her desperately trying to stumble to breakfast without injuring themselves.

Quietly she entered the Great Hall and took her seat next to the Colonel's empty one. Typically, he was late if she was not there to hold the gun to his head. Looking the selection of breakfast foods in front of her, she started to fill her plate. Sausage, egg, bacon, and biscuits were piled on her plate. As she reached to pour herself some orange juice, she was interrupted by a strangely quiet voice, "Lieutenant?"

She glanced up to meet large golden eyes. Somewhat surprised she raised an eyebrow before asking, "Yes, Edward?"

"Could you request for more information on my new mission?" he questioned in his native tongue. Riza nodded silently. Conversations between her and Edward were short and to the point, they understood each other on a certain level. Both had joined the military to protect or help a certain person, and they had come to a certain understanding. Without another word to teenager turned and walked to his table, slipping in between the infamous Weasely twins.

Even after several months at the school, the Colonel's mere presence caused the girls to whisper and swoon. It was through the sudden whispers and excited squeals that Riza knew her Colonel had arrived. She was slightly surprised and showed it when she felt his presence at her side. "What is the occasion, sir?" she asked as she turned to look at him.

"Occasion, Lieutenant?" he asked slightly confused. The glare he had been hoping to give her was gone, replaced by his confusion.

A small smile lit her lips as she answered, "You're on time today, Colonel."

The normally cool face, let emotions rage for a moment before pulling himself under control once again. "My Lieutenant was missing," he said quietly, coal black eyes locked on her. "It is not normal for her to disappear in unknown territory," he added after a moment

Riza nodded, her disappearance had unruffled him. Keeping her voice even she explained, "I found myself new sleeping quarters, sir. It is not proper to have one female staying with three males, is it, sir?"

Keeping his face stone-like, Mustang nodded, "Next time do tell someone, Lieutenant Hawkeye." The use of her name seemed to show his displeasure at being outwitted. Yet, he still had one card to play, "And may your superior officer know where you are currently staying?"

By this point Havoc and Feury had taken their seats at the table and were listening intently to the conversation. Hawkeye nodded in submission and quietly told him, "Professor Snape has been kind enough to allow me to stay in his rooms."

Havoc and Feury chocked on their breakfasts, both having had rough encounters with the man in question. He reminded them too much of a far crankier Colonel and they could hardly imagine the Lieutenant subjecting herself to this. Mustang barely managed to keep the surprise from his face as he nodded. There was nothing he could do about it, and it did inform him that his Lieutenant was extremely upset with him.

Breakfast continued on as normal until the post arrived. Soon enough worried Edward made his way back to the teacher's table and held out the letter he had received wordlessly.

_Dear Edward,_

_Have you found yourself a girl, yet? Or did you finally get together with your mechanic? Ow! I just got whacked by the Lieutenant. We have some rather important news. Or we think it's important. We don't know exactly what is going on, but something strange is happening in Central. _

_We're writing this letter to you because the rest of the Colonel's command has a feeling that their mail is being watched. We all wish to impress upon you the idea that something is happening. Breda and Falman have received orders that they are to join you soon. It looks as if all of the Colonel's unit is being taken out of Central. Either the Colonel did something to really piss off his superiors, or they don't want him around for some reason. _

_Granted, we could be wrong. We don't know the true reason that you are in England, nor do Breda and Falman. You could need the help of the entire unit, we truly don't know. If this is so ignore our letter, but otherwise take our words to heart. Something seems to be going on._

_-Lieutenant Ross and Your Favorite Bodyguard_

_P.S. Find a girl soon!_

The Colonel read the letter quietly before looking up and asking, "So squirt? Have you found a girl yet?"

With a shout the room erupted in chaos. Edward had to be grabbed by Havoc as he alternately screamed at the Colonel that he wasn't short and convulsed at the thought of having a girlfriend, especially Winry.

"Get to class, FullMetal, we'll discuss this tonight," the Colonel ordered the younger alchemist in his native language as he handed the letter back. Still fuming, Edward discreetly flipped his superior officer off as he saluted and left the room scowling.

"Potions first," the teen moaned, "Class with the second Colonel Bastard!" He couldn't help it. It truly was his worst nightmare. Two classes with men exactly like Mustang? He could hardly stand Mustang in one class. Edward truly didn't know how he had managed to last this long. Normally he was at headquarters for as short a period as possible before running out again. It was a nice system, this way he didn't kill Mustang and Mustang didn't kill him.

Resigned to his fate, Edward pushed the Potions' door open slowly. The class was beginning to form and he unhappily took his seat next to Seamus. His eyes scanned the board in front of him and nodded silently. This would be easy. It wouldn't be that hard to make the potion.

Professor Snape swept into the room, his robe billowing around him. It was so much like Mustang in his coat that Edward found himself cursing the pair. Cursing them out loud and in his native language.

"Mr. Elric, is there a problem?" Snape asked as he spun around to stare at the teenager.

Edward shook his head, "Sorry, sir. I was just thinking about how much you and the Colonel are alike." A small smirk appeared on his face as several of the girls gasped in surprise. They couldn't believe that their beloved Mustang was anything like Professor Snape.

"Well keep those comments to yourself from now on!" the Professor snapped at him. Without another word, class started. They had half an hour to complete the potion and then it would be tested on their partners at the end of class.

A sharp knocking shocked the students out of their intense concentration. The door creaked open slowly and Lieutenant Hawkeye stepped into the room. "Please excuse me, sir," she interrupted.

"May I help you, Lieutenant?" Snape asked gently.

Stepping forward, Hawkeye moved to the front of the room and asked softly, "Sir, it has come to my attention that one of our subordinates is coming soon, and he is deathly afraid of dogs. Would I be able to move Black Hayate into our suite?"

Behind her, Edward choked. Hawkeye was staying with Snape? Blinking back tears, he managed to stop coughing and volunteer in English, "Lieutenant he may stay with me, while Breda is here." At the woman's nod, he continued on in their native tongue, "Why the hell are you staying with that Bastard? He's almost worse than Colonel Bastard!"

Hawkeye raised one eyebrow in response as she softly responded, "You would be surprised. He seems much better than Colonel Mustang."

It was then that Edward realized that his Colonel had screwed up badly somewhere. Mustang's Ten Steps To Winning His Lieutenant had failed. And all he could do was laugh.

* * *

**A/N**: Yo! Sorry, I've just managed to overcome my writer's block! Evil thing! So it's longer than the last chapter and I would have made it longer still to apologize for the lack of updating, but I needed to stop there. The next chapter will get slightly interesting, hopefully.

Anyway, I'm on vacation now, so I've got some time. And I have a new computer! I should be posting this tonight and starting the next chapter tonight as well! Assuming I get some internet soon! Hope you liked and let me know what you thought!

Not having much luck over here. I'm without any reference to FMA or Harry Potter where I am... so I may come back in two weeks and edit in some ranks and names... hence the 'your favorite bodyguard', all though I do think he would actually do that! So don't kill me! And now I'll post this! Hope you all enjoy!


	19. Snowballs

A snowball was clutched in the metal fingers and carried through Hogwarts' halls. Edward had just come in from his lone training session in the snow. As much as he was at a school filled with students and his unit, he was lonely. He never felt right without his brother at his side. It was as if his goal was slipping from his fingers.

Alone or not, he still was trying to keep his spirits high, and covering Mustang in frozen water sounded like the perfect plan. And it appeared that automail had its benefits. The ability to keep the snow cold and from melting was welcome, though sometimes it froze his shoulder and leg. It was one of the reasons he preferred the desert, there were less complications with his automail. That and at home other's had automail. It wasn't such a big deal. In England he couldn't go a day without someone asking about it or staring.

Opening the door to the Alchemy classroom, he found himself confronted by the thunk of metal hitting the stone floor. Eyes narrowed in confusion, the teen pushed the door open even further. There, standing in front of the Colonel.

The snowball tumbled from his cold metal fingers, smashing on the stone floor and scattering across the floor. Little water drops formed on the ground as the snow started melting. His plan for fun was long forgotten as he stared at the figure in front of him.

Alphonse was pacing back and forth in front of Mustang, clearly nervous for when his brother arrived. As expressionless as a suit of armor was, years had taught Edward how to read his brother. The slow then swift movements of his brother, the invisible aura that radiated around the younger Elric, and the shade of red Alphonse's eyes glowed.

"Big brother," Al started cautiously. He could tell his brother was close to having a not so pleasant reaction to his presence. When the alchemist made no move to speak, Al continued, "The Fuhrer sent me back with the required information, and orders to remain here until you return."

Surprising everyone, Edward silently held his hand out for the requested information. The packet was handed over in stunned silence and Edward quickly scanned it. A small twitch formed on his eyebrow and once again everyone waited for the explosion. Instead the teen handed the information back and turned.

"When you complete the change see me right away, I need to take care of something," the young alchemist called over his shoulder as he moved out of the room. The Gryffindors were at quidditch practice at the moment. It would be easy to find he person he was looking for.

The door closed leaving the foreigners in silence. After a moment Alphonse moved to the table and asked, "What was in the packet?" He could tell his brother had something weighing on his mind. He generally fell silent and held it in acting calm and collected until he couldn't handle it anymore.

As a group everyone moved forward and crowded around the offensive packet. Eyes widened in understanding as they scanned the papers. That explained Edward's strange mood.

Moving back into the snow, the stupid military uniform becoming wet once again, Ed stared up at the sky as he moved. He could see the team swooping through the air with shouts of joy. He scanned the skies for the telltale black hair and blurring broom. Yet, the sky was empty. Confused he raised his arm up and flagged one of the Weasely brother's down.

"Hey mate, what do you need?" Fred asked as his brother swooped from the sky to join them.

Ed waited for a moment before he asked, "Where's Harry?"

The twins' faces clouded over as George answered, anger clear in his voice, "Umbridge forced him to quit the team so we could play."

Golden eyes crinkled together in a scowl. He truly didn't like that woman, and if he had any say she would be getting what she deserved soon. "I'll be leaving for a little while, but after… I could use a little help," the alchemist murmured an evil glint coming into his normally peaceful eyes.

Identical looks of joy spread across the twins' faces at just the thought of torturing Umbridge. Without further words the trio split apart. The bludgers would not wait for the twins to stop daydreaming, while Edward had a teenager to find.

Finding the black-haired boy was not as hard as it may have sounded. Harry had locked himself away in the boy's dormitory. Pouting and angry, the wizard was glaring at the parchment he had spread across his bed. The sound of footsteps in the door, only caused the teen to look up scowling.

Ed held his hands up in a non-threatening matter, before moving to his own bed. He quickly opened the military brand trunk and began to pull out the standard cold weather uniform accessories. He would be gone for several days if his prediction was correct. That meant several days of snow.

Green eyes watched carefully, narrowing dangerously at the obvious signs that the teen had accepted the mission. Harry's hand slipped into his pocket, fiddling with something he had hidden inside. "I won't let you leave here," the cold voice filled the room.

Snapping to attention Edward's eyes glared fiercely at the boy across the room. "You would stop me from tracking down and bringing in Fenrir Greyback?" he asked sharply.

"Fenrir…Grey…back?" came Harry's uncomprehending voice. Gold eyes rolled as the young major moved his winter coat into the small suitcase. "Voldemort's supporter?" the teen questioned uncertainly.

"The higher ranks are requesting that I bring a werewolf in for testing. They seem to think that some type of alchemy is involved," Edward explained quietly. "Now if you don't mind, I need to go see that my brother has settled himself in once again." The teen climbed to his feet and shut his suitcase, leaving it at the end of his bed. He would leave in a few hours. Boots clunked as he moved to the door to the room. Pausing, hand on the handle, he added, "Be sure to find a spell to make Greyback believe he is Lupin before I return."

The black haired boy stared at the door as it closed in stunned silence. Had that really just happened? Was the small alchemist truly going to track down Fenrir Greyback? That would be suicide! And yet, relief flooded the teen's chest. His only father figure was safe for now.

The blonde alchemist met his younger brother in the stairway on his way to the alchemy classroom. The change of armor to body had gone smoothly, but it pained both brothers. They could see the end they wished to achieve, but not find a way to meet that end. Seeing the body only made it more difficult for the pair to cope with their situation.

"We'll get your body back soon-"

"You don't need to take the mission. Nina-"

The brothers had spoken at the same time. Nearly identical blonde heads shook in laughter as the brothers started walking side by side to the classroom. Edward was the first to speak, "I'm still going on this mission."

"But brother, even the Colonel understands if-" Alphonse started.

He was quickly cut off as Edward spoke, "I am going to complete this mission like a dog of the military. I just ask that you do two things for me while I am gone." At his brother's curious glance he explained, "Make sure Harry completes the task I have given him, and," at this point a mischievous glint found it's way into the teen's golden eyes, "find out how Mustang screwed up to the point Hawkeye decided to move into Snape's quarters! Then I'll rub it in the bastards face and he won't be able to do anything! No more short jokes, no more giving me tips on women! His failed!"

Alphonse could only look away as his brother started cackling to himself certain of his victory and one up on the bastard that controlled his life. Honestly, Alphonse liked the Colonel, he had always looked after them…

**A/N:** I'm alive! So is the story! Feel free to kill me… I took nearly a year to update. And for that this author's note is going to be really short and I'm going to go hide. Please don't kill me. I didn't mean to wait this long. But no, it's not abandoned! And… I'll try to make the next chapter longer, I just needed to get to the point where I could allow Ed to leave and explain a few things.


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